I am by no
means a museum junkie – so often they are too dark and gloomy for me. But a major exception was the Tjibaou Cultural Centre which was in
fact the highlight of a trip to New Caledonia.
This is a
little map to give you an idea of where New Caledonia is. Not only is it a Pacific Island with a great
climate, it is a French territory so you get to immerse yourself in both French
and Kanak culture. The Kanaks are the
indigenous people of the country.
It was
partly in recognition of the historic maltreatment of the Kanaks that the
French Government funded the construction of the Tjibaou Cultural Centre. (I certainly don't know how to pronounce that
let alone spell it)
The centre
is named for Jean-Marie Tjibaou who was the leader of the Kanak independence
movement who was assassinated in 1989.
Wow! I know so little about New Caledonia, what a fabulous and unexpected building.
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