Museum of International Folk Art to Open Sandroing: Tracing Kastom in Vanuatu

The Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) is proud to announce Sandroing: Tracing Kastom in Vanuatu, its first exhibition focused on Oceania in more than six decades. Opening June 29, 2025, this groundbreaking exhibition is also the first outside of Melanesia to spotlight Vanuatu’s sandroing tradition.

The exhibition will be held in the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience and will showcase the intricate, symbolic art of sand drawing (sandroing in Bislama, Vanuatu’s national language). This storytelling tradition from the northern islands of the South Pacific nation uses sand, ash or fine dirt to create detailed geometric patterns that preserve kastom (traditional knowledge), folklore, genealogies and histories.

Recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, sandroing is a vital part of Vanuatu’s cultural identity.

A collaboration between MOIFA and the Vanuatu Kaljoral Senta (Cultural Center) and National Museum (VKS), the exhibition features sand drawings by Edgar Hinge, a renowned practitioner and educator from Pentecost Island. Hinge will create live sand drawings in the gallery, telling powerful stories about climate change, the enslavement of ni-Vanuatu during colonial times and the new connections and responsibilities shared between the institutions involved.

“This exhibition is a milestone for both the museum and the people of Vanuatu. It highlights the significance of sand drawing as a living tradition that continues to communicate important cultural and historical narratives,” said Charlie Lockwood, Executive Director of MOIFA. “We are honored to work with the Vanuatu Kaljoral Senta and National Museum on this project, especially as we discuss with them the potential repatriation of kastom objects from our collection to Vanuatu.”

Sandroing: Tracing Kastom in Vanuatu is made possible by lead support from the U.S. Embassy in Vanuatu, the International Folk Art Foundation, the Friends of Folk Art, the Deborah and Martin Fishbein Trust, Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn, Courtney and Scott Taylor and donors to the Museum of New Mexico Foundation Exhibition Development Fund.

About the Museum of International Folk Art  

The Museum of International Folk Art is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Board of Regents for the Museum of New Mexico. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the International Folk Art Foundation and Museum of New Mexico Foundation. The mission of The Museum of International Folk Art is to shape a humane world by connecting people through creative expression and artistic traditions. The museum holds the largest collection of international folk art in the world, numbering more than 163,000 objects from more than 100 countries.

Adapted from a New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs press release. Photo: Sand drawing by Edgar Hinge. Photo by Chloe Accardi.

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