A striking 2.8-metre slit drum from Vanuatu is the centrepiece of a new pop-up display at the South Australian Museum, alongside several musical objects that have never been publicly exhibited.
Pacific Cultures in Motion: Revitalising the Collection celebrates the musical traditions of Pacific communities and marks the first in a series of community-informed activations drawing from the Museum’s internationally significant Pacific Cultures Collection.
The display grew from a collaboration between Adelaide-based Ni-Vanuatu performer Edgell Junior Edgell and Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara man Elisha Umuhuri. Both are collaborators with Adelaide children’s performing arts company Patch Theatre, who approached the Museum about using the slit drum from the Pacific Cultures collection to develop a soundtrack for a production premiering in 2027.
Visitors can watch a video of Edgell Junior and Elisha creating their musical collaboration in the studio and sharing their thoughts on the cultural importance of music. Originally from the island of Pentecost in central Vanuatu, Edgell Junior is featured playing the slit drum and traditional dance rattles made from the fruit of Pangium edule, a tropical tree found throughout Vanuatu. Elisha Umuhuri is a member of the award-winning APY Lands hip-hop trio DEM MOB.
Living musical traditions
“Music is such an important part of Ni-Vanuatu culture,” says Edgell Junior. “We don’t just sing or play it, we live it. There are so many different types of instruments played across all of our islands, including percussion, wind and water instruments, and they are used for many different purposes or ceremonies.”
He notes the deep specificity of these traditions: “In most people’s eyes, they would see a Ni-Vanuatu playing a tamtam, but in the eyes of someone from Ambrym, where this tamtam belongs, they would know straight away that I’m not one of their own and that I’m from Pentecost.”
“Each island and language group has its own voice, and our instruments give us a way of celebrating and communicating with each other. For example, the tamtam from my island Pentecost does not have a face, like the one in the South Australian Museum exhibit.”
Collection care in partnership
The pop-up is part of an ongoing conservation and cultural care program for the Museum’s Pacific Cultures collection, delivered in partnership with the Pacific Islands Council of South Australia (PICSA) and Pasifika community leaders. Since commencing in July this year, the program has been providing culturally appropriate care of ancestral objects and strengthening community connections to the collection.
Several items in the display, including musical balls and bamboo flutes, are being shown publicly for the first time thanks to this work.
“We’re excited to be providing an opportunity for visitors to experience significant Pacific cultural objects while our conservation program is undertaken,” says South Australian Museum Director Dr Samantha Hamilton. “Pacific Cultures in Motion highlights the living cultural traditions, creativity and stories of Pasifika communities.”
Visiting details
Pacific Cultures in Motion: Revitalising the Collection is on display in the Museum’s North Foyer until early 2027. Entry is free and the Museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm.
For more information, visit whatson.samuseum.sa.gov.au
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