In a vibrant celebration, the International Association of Arts and Culture for Peace was successfully launched at the Tiapapata Art Centre on January 26 coinciding with Australia Day.

The event saw active participation from over 20 attendees from Samoa and across Oceania, facilitated through a combination of face-to-face interactions and a virtual presence on Zoom, emphasizing the organisation’s commitment to worldwide connection.

To celebrate Australian Day, two Australian artists were featured- Kim Roth and Barbara Vondracek.

A highlight of the event was a moving exhibition featuring the work and talents of two of our local artists Moelotoleulalemamae Tiatia and Leilani Vete.

Ms. Tiatia is a graduate of Leulumoega Fou School of Fine Arts featured a number of her talents that related to the theme ‘Original Heart. Original Art,’ and graced the audience with her graceful taualuga (Samoan dance).

Samoan artist Leilani Vete from the Tiapapata Art Gallery featured two things and one of them was a presentation of her program ‘Poutu Malosi’ through the Youth and Student for Peace (YSP) project teaching university student's methods and positive ways to release and deal with their emotions or mental wellbeing.

According to the president of the International of Youth and Students for Peace –Oceania, Mee Hwa Atimalala, this was a great initiative for aspiring artists to showcase the impact of art in promoting peace and fostering cultural exchange.

“Arts is considered powerful in many ways because it promotes communication between cultures and people and can change people’s perspectives and preserve the feelings of a culture,” she said.

“It’s a great initiative for one thing and a great opportunity for us to learn from our very hardworking artists who have so much to give and show towards the youth and their passion for art.

“This will open doors to our aspiring local artists and empower one another and not only do they bring prosperity but communities together and make life worth living."