Surrounded by paintings at a POM CITY Market event at Airways Hotel, local artist Chris Kawage spoke quietly about a journey that took him from military life to becoming a full-time painter whose artwork once attracted a visitor from Italy to Papua New Guinea.
For Chris, art was never just a hobby. It was a passion passed down from his father, contemporary artist Matius Kawage, long before life took him in another direction.
Chris attended the National Arts School from 1985 to 1988, where he studied Fine Arts and developed his skills as a young artist.
However, after graduating, he joined the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in 1989, serving for 16 years before being downsized because of age requirements.
Leaving the force was not easy.
“When I was in the force, I used to get paid fortnightly and everything was easy back then,” Chris recalled.
Like many retired officers, he could have searched for security work. Instead, he chose something far more uncertain; he chose art.
In 2006, Chris decided to take his passion seriously and turn it into a livelihood. The early years were difficult, but he refused to give up.
Through painting, he provided for his wife and five children while paying all of their school fees.
“There is money in art, but our government does not recognize it,” he said. “Our artwork has stories behind it. Most of our drawings connect back to our traditions and culture.”
Six years after starting his business, the opportunity arrived. In 2012, Chris was selected among Papua New Guinea artists and craft creators to participate in the South Pacific Festival of Arts in the Solomon Islands.
A year later, he attended another arts festival in Brisbane, Australia. But while overseas, he noticed a painful difference between artists abroad and those back home.
“In Australia, artists have galleries and associations that help them get paid, and they are recognized by their government,” he said. “Here in PNG, most artists in Port Moresby sell paintings on the streets near hotels and public places just to survive.”
He said local artists often receive far less value for their work compared to overseas artists.
“Tourists may pay only K500 for our paintings here, but overseas artwork can cost 10 times more.”
Despite the challenges, Chris continued building his small business, Chris Kawage Arts, which now supplies paintings to hotels and restaurants around Port Moresby.
Over the years, he has even taught his wife how to paint, while she now helps manage sales. Today, their hard work is paying off.
“My first-born son is working at BSP, my second just graduated from ITI, and my third works at Airways Hotel, while my other two children are still in school,” he said proudly.
But one moment still stands out among all the years of painting.
Chris recalled meeting a foreign visitor who travelled from an island near Italy after seeing one of his paintings hanging inside a hotel overseas.
“When he took out his phone and matched the signature on the painting, he realized it was me,” Chris said. “Then he smiled and told me, “I came all the way from Italy just to see you.’”
The visitor later bought two more paintings before leaving. Deeply moved; Chris later repainted the same artwork that had once travelled across the world.
Today, that particular encounter remains one of Chris Kawage’s proudest memories as an artist who turned hardship into a life built through paint, culture, and persistence.
