05/03/2026
The Field Museum’s newest exhibition highlights the endurance, perpetuation, and future of Samoan artforms and cultural practices.
On March 6, the Field Museum will debut Amerika Samoa, a temporary exhibition in the Regenstein Halls of the Pacific. The exhibition will transport visitors to American Samoa with the help of co-curators, Reggie Meredith Fitiao and Su’a Uilisone Fitiao of Fa’asamoa Arts, a nonprofit art studio and gallery based in Leone, American Samoa.
“Amerika Samoa nurtures a living culture,” says Meredith Fitiao. “Our people are cared for within every inch of its surrounding shore. There is ancestry, and a rich history that encapsulates it all.”
Amerika Samoa will highlight two art forms: siapo mamanu (painted barkcloth) and tatau (tattoo). Visitors will learn about the technical aspects of these artistic practices, as well as their cultural importance and meaning, showing that siapo and tatau are more than art forms — their designs and patterns are records of traditions, identity, and connection to the land and ocean. The exhibition will show how traditional patterns represent Samoan identity, values, and history.
Each practice is presented through contemporary works, curated with assistance from the Chicago community. In July 2025, Fa’asamoa Arts held two workshops at the Field Museum. Members of Chicago’s Samoan community—as well as museum visitors and staff—were able to contribute in the creation of a large siapo mamanu for the exhibition, and restored a 19th-century outrigger canoe. Meredith Fitiao, along with her team, coordinated the siapo design while also demonstrating bark cloth beating and sharing the cultural significance of ancestral patterns and motifs with the Chicago community.
“It's a spectacular piece of art that our city can be proud of,” says exhibition developer Ryan Schuessler. “It's important for people and communities to be able to represent themselves in museums. People are the experts of their own stories. This exhibition was curated by Samoan artists who are also teachers, so it's an authentic, first-person introduction to Samoan art and culture.”
The large siapo mamanu created in July will be displayed alongside additional examples of siapo and siapo mamanu from Museum collections, including contemporary pieces and others dating back to at least 1893. The co-curators selected pieces for display that best illustrate the practice and reinforce the exhibition’s narrative.
In addition to contemporary art and cultural items on display, the exhibition will transport visitors from Chicago to the islands of American Samoa through contemporary art, cultural items, soundscapes, and immersive visuals
To commemorate the opening of the exhibition, a ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
