Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery, National museum in Waigani, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
The Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery displays over 50,000 ethnographic objects in separate galleries for music, ceremonies, navigation arts, and masks. The collections include outrigger canoes from Milne Bay, totem poles from the Sepik region, and many other traditional craft artifacts.
The museum was founded in 1977, but collection efforts began in 1889 when British authorities gathered natural and cultural items from local regions. Over time the gathering grew until eventually becoming the institution visitors see today.
The galleries display ceremonial drums like kundu and garamut, carved shields and wooden figures from many regions. Visitors see objects that played important roles in celebrations and rituals and remain meaningful to local communities today.
The museum is located in Waigani on Independence Drive and open to visitors on regular days. It is best to allow time to explore the various galleries since the collection is quite extensive.
The museum regularly receives cultural objects being returned from international collections to their source communities. These returns show a growing worldwide effort to bring cultural treasures back to their home regions.
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