PICA-WA’s mission amplifies Cultural Belonging as one of three mission points aimed at providing touch points for supporting community driven efforts to cultivate Pasifika arts programming that help keep our Pacific Islander diaspora communities (most especially here in northwest Coast Salish territories) grounded and rooted in their identities.
PICA-WA recognizes the general scarcity of arts development opportunities for Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander communities locally in addition to a lack of readily available artist mentors to help foster a more vibrant contemporary local Pasifika art scene.
To this end, PICA-WA presents the INS[PI]RED Pasifika Artist Residency. This residency is part of a comprehensive plan to engage Pacific Islander artists and our communities not only in the Puget Sound but in southwest, eastern, and other Washington regions that Pasifika communities have called home.
As a valued community partner and co-steward of the INS[PI]RED Pasifika Artist Residency Program, The Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture has committed to making work/research-space available for the resident artist(s) in addition to providing access to the Burke Museum’s Pacific Islander Collection currently in its care.
One of the important aspects of this partnership is the establishment of uplifting practices that recognizes diasporic indigenous communities’ role as creators, caretakers of culture, stewards of relationships, and carriers of knowledge. Providing access to Pasifika Artists in the Burke Museum allows them the opportunity to engage directly with artifacts made by their ancestors and encourage them to continue ongoing traditions of cultural innovations which is crucial in the diaspora.
The next cohort of the INS[PI]RED Residency will feature a total of 8 emerging northwest Pasifika artists from a variety of artistic practices for the month of April, 2022. This will include:
Pacific Islander Community Association of WA (PICA-WA) serves as a cultural home, centers community power, and advocates to further the wellness of Pacific Islander communities in Washington State.