Sandroing. Courtesy photo
MIFA News:
SANTA FE — The Museum of International Folk Art is proud to announce its first exhibition focused on Oceania in more than six decades, Sandroing: Tracing Kastom in Vanuatuopening June 29, 2025. In fact, this is the first exhibition outside of Melanesia to focus on Vanuatu’s sandroing tradition.
This captivating exhibition will take place in the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience and showcase the intricate and symbolic art of sand drawing (sandroing in Bislama, Vanuatu’s national language), a storytelling tradition from the northern islands of the South Pacific Ocean nation Vanuatu.
Sandroing, which uses sand, ash, or fine dirt to create intricate geometric patterns is more than an art form, it is a vital means of preserving Vanuatu’s kastom (traditional knowledge), folklore, genealogies, and histories. This practice, recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, is an essential part of Vanuatu’s cultural identity.
Sandroing: Tracing Kastom in Vanuatu is a collaboration between the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) and the Vanuatu Kaljoral Senta (Cultural Center) and National Museum (VKS). It features sand drawings by Edgar Hinge, a renowned sand drawing practitioner and educator from Pentecost Island. Hinge will be creating live sand drawings for the exhibition, telling stories of climate change, the enslavement of ni-Vanuatu during colonial times, and about this collaboration and the ties and responsibilities it creates between the two institutions and the individuals involved in the project.
“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,” Charlie Lockwood, Executive Director of MOIFA said. “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 Vanuatuis made possible by lead support from the US 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. Learn more at moifa.org.