During these challenging times building an ever-increasing online presence has been at the forefront of Pitcairn Islands Tourism’s strategic thinking. Today, Pitcairn Islands Tourism is pleased to announce they’ve taken their on-island artisan gallery online! The gallery opened locally in 2019 and quickly became one of the island’s many attractions. With travel restrictions in place until March 2021, the gallery decided to create an online presence with the “The Pitkern Islands Artisan Gallery Online Store”. The launch of this exciting venture is not just another step in growing international awareness of one of the world’s most remote tourism destinations, it also provides a new opportunity for Pitcairn’s talented artisans to collectively showcase their products and ship them to enthusiasts around the globe.
Pitcairn Island artisans have been carving, weaving and fashioning curios and other souvenirs for generations and many of the handmade crafts and curios available through the online store highlight the strong connection Pitcairn Islanders have with their Bounty and Polynesian history. Choosing to name the store “Pitkern Artisan’s Gallery” signifies the importance Pitcairn Islanders place on preserving and promoting Pitcairn’s unique local dialect and cultural identity.
Announcing the launch of the online store, Pitcairn Islands Tourism Travel Coordinator, Heather Menzies, said “From branded clothing through to jewelry, woven baskets, carvings, memorabilia and stunning handcrafted HMAV Bounty models, our Artisan’s store offers access to Pitcairn’s handicrafts with a simple tap on your phone or click of a mouse! All products will be packed and shipped directly from remote Pitcairn Island to the world.”
The Pitkern Island Artisan Gallery now exhibits a range of over 150 different products from 13 resident artisans. Every product in the gallery is available via the Pitkern Island Artisan Gallery Online Store which can be visited at www.pitkernartisangallery.pn
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ABOUT THE PITCAIRN ISLANDS
The Pitcairn Islands are a group of four islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that comprise the last remaining British Overseas Territory in the Pacific. Only Pitcairn Island, the second largest, is inhabited. Located halfway between New Zealand and Peru, with a lush and fertile climate, Pitcairn has a colourful history. In 1789 Fletcher Christian led a mutiny on the English vessel, HMAV Bounty and, several months later, together with 8 fellow mutineers and 19 Polynesians, sailed the ship to Pitcairn Island, one of the most remote and isolated islands in the world. By 1808, when the tiny colony was rediscovered, all but one of the mutineers and all the Polynesian men had died. The surviving mutineer, John Adams, eleven Polynesian women and twenty-five children remained. Today, almost all of the 50 or so inhabitants of Pitcairn are direct descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Polynesian consorts. For more information visit: www.visitpitcairn.pn
Media Contact:
Richard Hankin
Australia & New Zealand Marketing Representative
Pitcairn Islands Tourism
Proudly represented by TROPICS TOURISM & MARKETING SERVICES
A: P O Box 3063, Allambie Heights, NSW, AUSTRALIA, 2100
M: International +61 (0) 409 512 944
E: pitcairn@tropicsmarketing.com.au
W: www.visitpitcairn.pn
(Source: Pitcairn Islands Tourism media release 11 September 2020)
