At the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, the American Museum of Asmat Art is devoted to the art and culture of the Asmat people of southwestern Papua, Indonesia. Its collection of more than 2,200 objects is among the largest of its kind in the United States and includes permanent displays of bis ancestor poles, canoes, and other works, along with rotating exhibitions. The museum grew from the work of Bishop Alphonse Sowada, who began working with the Asmat in Agats in 1958, spent decades documenting and collecting their art, and later donated the collection to St. Thomas in 2007. The museum opened in 2012.