The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) is located at 7th Street and Alamitos Avenue in the East Village Arts District of Long Beach, California. The district lies in the eastern half of downtown Long Beach, within the borders of Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach Boulevard, 10th Street and Alamitos Avenue. The East Village offers an eclectic mix of artist lofts, high-rise condos, and a wide array of cultures, coffee shops, boutiques, restaurants and galleries. A central feature of the Arts District is the Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA), which focuses on post-World War II contemporary artists from Latin America.
PIEAM is situated on a triangular piece of land bordered by 7th Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, and Alamitos Avenue; it is, appropriately, an island. The mural design on the exterior of the PIEAM building, created by Long Beach native and famed muralist Art Mortimer, recreates a traditional Men’s House from the Island of Yap, one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia. Mortimer’s impressive resume and long history in painting murals throughout Southern California made him the obvious choice for this project. Many of his murals can be seen at www.artmortimer.com.
The museum also showcases the diverse cultures from the Pacific who call this area home, including the Marshallese, Samoans, Chamorro, Fijian, Carolinian, Tongan, Micronesian, Hawaiian, the Ni-Vanuatu, Niuean, Tuvauluan, Maori, Polynesian, Papuan, Austronesian, Nauruan, Melanesian, Palauan, the I-Kiribati and many more distinct nationalities.
PIEAM’s mission is to generate interest in these diverse cultures and educate its varied audiences by bringing the beauty and culture of Pacific Island ethnic art to Southern California. PIEAM stays true to the heritage of the Pacific Islands, highlighting all forms of Pacific Island ethnic art.
PIEAM’s exhibits include sculptures, textiles, paintings, wooden tools, jewelry, and carvings from across the Pacific. Works are constantly being commissioned and acquired from all the islands for display at the museum. Aspects of the living arts showcase traditional island dance, interactive cultural demonstrations, and hands-on learning opportunities. The sculpture garden includes a Stone Money Bank (“Rai”) and a dance platform (“Mahlal”).
The late Dr. Robert Gumbiner created PIEAM in an effort to preserve and revive the island arts and crafts of the Pacific Island people. With his passing in January 2009, his personal collection of Pacific Island ethnic art was generously donated to PIEAM.