Jeffrey Brown:

It’s the first time the Oceania collection will have its own dedicated space, part of a broader multiyear $70 million renovation of the Met’s Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Originally, the wing, home to the museum’s collections of art from the ancient Americas, Africa, and Oceania, presented the works together under what the Met then called its department of primitive art.

Museum director Max Hollein:

Max Hollein, CEO and Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: I think that we now have reached a point where we not only have a much deeper knowledge about these works of art, but also a much deeper understanding about how to present them, how to show them to make a really truly meaningful installation.