New Caledonia: An Archipelago at a Crossroads

New Caledonia is an archipelago that is rarely spoken of in the Czech Republic. From a European perspective, it lies at the far end of the world – and yet it stands at the centre of struggles over sovereignty, identity, memory, and the future. New Caledonia: An Archipelago at a Crossroads is the result of ethnographic research conducted by Dr Karolina Kania between 2014 and 2023 across the islands of the archipelago. Through fieldwork, interviews, and observation, she explored local everyday life and the tensions surrounding tourism development. Her anthropological reporting on New Caledonia has been published in Outriders and Tourism Geographies, among others. The exhibition continues that story – of the territory's history, its people, and the multicultural mosaic that shapes New Caledonia today. Visitors are invited behind the scenes of the Yam Festival and a customary wedding, introduced to local practices, and taken along unexpected Czech threads. Karolina Kania's photographs and accounts have been artistically interpreted by ethnologist and designer Patrycja Bulska-Wolas, who translated ethnographic experience into visual form and a series of posters. The exhibition is an invitation to look carefully at New Caledonian reality – without exoticization, and with empathy and curiosity.