At the Met, barkcloth offers a way to understand gift giving
· BehindLines newsroom
New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced 2 November as the start date for a presentation of tapa, cloth made from bark and used in ceremonial exchanges across the Pacific. Tapa: Art of the Gift in Polynesia is scheduled to run until 12 December 2027. This is the museum's announced timetable; no on-site confirmation of the opening has been made.
Distinct works and traditions
The Met is due to bring together nineteenth-century pieces from Fiji, Samoa and Futuna, alongside a hiapo from Niue on loan from New Zealand's Te Papa Tongarewa museum. Plans include displaying two large Fijian panels together. A contemporary painting by Niuean artist John Puhiatau Pule is intended to extend the presentation into current artistic practice.
Tapa does not describe one uniform practice. In its general introduction, Te Papa distinguishes Fijian masi, Samoan siapo, Tongan ngatu and Niuean hiapo. These names refer to traditions whose uses and patterns vary between islands.
From bark to a decorated surface
The record for a siapo held by Te Papa details the making process in Samoa. The paper mulberry's inner bark is separated, cleaned and beaten to widen it. Pieces are then joined before decoration. Designs can be drawn freehand or produced by rubbing over a board with a raised pattern.
The same museum notes that tapa also serves as clothing, mats and painted supports. Making and using it sustains connections with families, cultures and ancestral lands, including among communities living in New Zealand.
That social dimension helps explain the theme of gifts chosen in New York. The exhibition is about more than surfaces to look at: it invites visitors to consider how crafted objects, passed between people, become part of relationships between individuals and communities. The museum places the presentation in its Fifth Avenue building.