Grainger Creative Research Residency 2024 - Rita Seumanutafa-Palala

Rita Seumanutafa-Palala
Pasefika at Grainger

This residency research project will focus on the Pacific Islander/Pasefika collection at the Grainger Museum, with the aim of developing a database that will provide community insight and information to the collection. Percy Grainger collected many objects through his travels in the Pacific, or from curio dealers in Australia, during the early twentieth century, and his collection spans from fans and combs, to Pasefika-inspired costumes designed or made by Grainger himself.

The overall aim of this residency project is to connect the local Pasefika communities of Victoria with the collection, including cultural knowledge-holders in the hope of contributing cultural context to identifiable objects within the collection. It also aims to add to current understandings of these items, by adding Indigenous names, information about provenance, function and construction as well as any linked stories, historical events, myths and legends to the Museum’s documentation.

Biography:

Rita Seumanutafa-Palala is a graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne. She holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) with First Class Honours (2013) and is currently completing a PhD in Ethnomusicology (2024). Her research focus is on Samoan musical traditions in diaspora. A music educator, performer and composer, Rita is an APRA-AMCOS award (2019) nominee and a composer of contemporary Samoan song. She also mentors young Samoan musicians based in the western suburbs in community and church musicianship. Rita has recently joined University of Melbourne’s Oceania Institute leadership team and will be instrumental in the development of the Institute during its formative years.

Founding director of creative arts organisation PICAA (Pacific Island Creative Arts Australia Inc.), Rita’s impactful work as a community and creative arts leader, advocate and mentor has culminated in the formation of many Pasefika community initiatives such as The Melbourne Pacific Island Choir (2006), The Melbourne Samoan Choir (2012), Pasefika Vitoria Choir (2016), Miss Samoa Victoria Inc. (2017), The Pasefika Health Collective (2020), Pasefika Navigators (2020), and Victoria Samoa Netball Association (2022).

Her visionary leadership and commitment to Pacific communities has been acknowledged through various honours including Brimbank City Council’s Australia Day Award (2018), Community Ambassador for the Melbourne Storm (2019) and Global Women’s Peace Ambassador (2022) with Federation of Women’s Peace International. She also sits on the following advisory committees: Australian Museum’s Pacific Gallery curatorium (2021–2023), Museum Victoria’s Inclusion Working Group (2022–2025) and ECCV’s Multicultural Emergency Management Partnership (2022–present).