SPLA : Portal to cultural diversity
Cultures-Vanuatu

Eric Natuoivi

  • Eric Natuoivi
© Museum of Anthropology (UBC)
Fine artist
Principal country concerned : Column : Fine arts

Eric was born in Matangi Village on the island of Futuna in the south of Vanuatu. He is a well known potter.

After graduating from Malapoa College, Eric began teaching at primary school while doing further study toward gaining teaching qualifications.

In 1986 he began teaching art to trainee teachers at the Vanuatu Teachers College, a position he still holds today. Motivated by a desire to be better able to teach art to ni-Vanuatu, Eric applied for and was awarded an Australian Development Assistance Bureau (ADAB) scholarship to study in Australia, and in 1987 attained a Graduate Diploma in Expressive and Performing Arts followed by a Master of Education in Creative Art in 1991 from the University of New South Wales. Eric first exhibited his work as part of the Graduate Exhibition in that year, and he has since exhibited in Art '92, '93, '94 and '95 in Port Vila, and in the Contemporary Art of the South Pacific exhibition staged in Sydney in 1995.

Eric's primary inspiration is Vanuatu's traditional cultures, and this is reflected in his use of traditional themes and decorative patterns in the creation of his ceramic pieces. He feels strongly that a knowledge of art, both traditional and contemporary, is essential for the development of a healthy self-identity in young people, and his courses at the Vanuatu Teachers College aim to impart this recognition to his students.

Organizations

1 files

Partners

  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS

With the support of