[1] Founded in 1994, the association was initially based in Noumea, hosted and supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
Incorporated as a non-profit organisation in May 1999, PIMA established itself on the site of the Fiji Museum in Suva.
[5] As of 2006, the Chairperson of PIMA's Executive Board was Faustina Rehuher, Director of the Belau National Museum.
Simon Poraituk, Acting Director of the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery, served as her deputy.
[6][7] PIMA has received funding from, among others, AusAID, NZAID, various departments of the Australian government, France's embassy to Suva, the International Centre for the Study of Conservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property, the International Council of Museums, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's Cultural Affairs Programme, UNESCO's Pacific Regional Office, and the World Heritage Centre.