Jo Anne Van Tilburg and Cristián Arévalo Pakarati have collected descriptive data on ethnographic objects in museum and private collections world-wide, and share these data with Mana Gallery artists as part of an enrichment and education program that includes artists in residence.
The Mana Gallery takes its name from the ancient Polynesian word mana, meaning spiritual power. The inspiration for the name was the Mana Expedition to Easter Island. Co-led by Katherine Scoresby Routledge and her husband William Scoresby Routledge, their chief collaborator was Juan Tepano, the maternal great-grandfather of Cristián Arévalo Pakarati, Mana Gallery co-owner.
The story of the Mana Expedition, and of Katherine Routledge’s life important work, is told by Jo Anne Van Tilburg in Among Stone Giants: The Life of Katherine Routledge and Her Remarkable Voyage to Easter Island.