The Pacific Arts Alliance

When Sailasa Tora wrote the song ‘Wasawasa' in Sydney, Australia more than a decade ago, he had no idea how much of an impact the song would have on the local creative arts scene. Meaning ‘oceans' in the Fijian vernacular, Sailasa wrote the song as an ode to the ocean and its significance to the people of the Pacific.

"I wrote the song about the power of the ocean. The ocean really is a whole world of its own and we don't realize that," Sailasa says.

Today, Sailasa's song has inspired the creation of the Wasawasa Festival of Oceans, an arts festival organized by senior Fiji artists working through the Fiji Arts Council in collaboration with the National Trust and the Fiji Museum. Earlier this year, Fiji Arts Council Director Letila Mitchell, approached Sailasa with the idea for an arts festival that would foster relationships between artists and the community at large, focusing on art not only as an alternative source of income, but also as a vehicle for positive social change.

The inaugural Wasawasa Festival of Oceans is planned to take place in Suva from December 1 - 6, based primarily at the Fiji Museum and Thurston Gardens. The festival aims to involve local and regional artists in creating awareness on significant social issues affecting Pacific communities. Using art as a medium of drawing the attention of the community, issues that will be addressed by artists at the Wasawasa Festival of Oceans will include poverty alleviation, governance, environmental conservation, empowerment of women and positive development for youth.

Art, music and audiovisual exhibits will be featured at the festival, as well as discussions, workshops and forums that will allow Pacific artists to share their skills with the community and discuss the inspiration behind their work.

‘Our senior artists have many ideas to share about building and uplifting our communities, and so the idea behind Wasawasa was for us to come together and create a collaborative platform and engage with the community in doing something positive about the problems we all face," says Wasawasa Organizing Committee member and Fiji Arts Council Director, Letila Mitchell.

Sailasa, who plans to be involved in Wasawasa through music and art workshops, feels that the ocean serves as a metaphor for the collective hopes and dreams of Pacific people.

"In modern thinking, the sea is a barrier, but in the traditional perspective, the sea is a highway, a link between neighbours. Everybody in the Pacific is linked through the sea," Sailasa says.

With this concept in mind, the Wasawasa Festival of Oceans is focused on using art as a uniting force, to call Pacific people into action, to join hands and take ownership of our collective responsibility to cherish our cultural knowledge and use our unique resources wisely.

In preparation for the Wasawasa Festival of Oceans, the Fiji Arts Council is currently accepting applications for the National Fine Art Exhibition and Awards, which will be held as part of the festival from December 4 - 12. The exhibition aims to give local artists an opportunity to showcase their work in categories including photography, sculpture and indigenous art. Cash prizes will be awarded to artists for various individual categories. Applications close on November 24 and forms with information booklets can be obtained from the Fiji Arts Council.

Some of the other events in preparation:

• Kalamwasa - Oceans of Ink writing festival being organized by Frances Koya and Mary Dyer
• Tovomakawa Vakaviti workshop - Timoci Matakiviwa and Sailasa Tora
• MamaHanua - Healing and Building families through the arts: Letila Mitchell and Frances Koya
• National Heritage Arts Exhibition and Christmas Arts Market
• Breaking Barriers - Youth in Action and Yellow Ribbon arts space: Lambert Ho

Mere Nailatikau
Business Development and Public Relations Officer
Fiji Arts Council
249 Barker Place, Muanikau, Suva.
Telephone 3311754
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