Trouble in Paradise: Climate Change in the Pacific

Across the Pacific Ocean—Te Moana, Vāsaloa, na Wasawasa, Wansolwara, Te Moana nui a Kiwa—the tides are shifting. Rising seas swallow homes, storms strike with new force, yet mangroves still root deep, holding against the waves.

Trouble in Paradise: Climate Change in the Pacific brings together photographs by Pacific Islanders of all ages, capturing everyday moments of beauty, resilience, and change. Displayed alongside historical objects and belongings in MOA’s Multiversity Galleries, these images spark dialogue between the deep cultural ties that have shaped Pacific life for millennia and the urgent transformations of today. As the landscapes that shaped these collections change, how do we reflect on the communities whose lives, histories, and futures remain bound to them?

Developed from a British Council touring and online exhibition, this intervention features photographs from a UK Government competition inviting Pacific Islanders to document life in a changing environment.

On display August 2025 – August 2026 | Multiversity Galleries

Curator: Mitiana Arbon
Design team: Cody Rocko, Pavneet Pal Singh
French translators: Marie-Claude Fortin, Mauhiga Ikauno

In partnership with British Council New Zealand and the Pacific,  British High Commission Wellington (New Zealand) and UBC Pacific Island Research Network

Photo credit: Maxim Va’a, Samoa. Copyright British High Commission.