STEP inside the doors of the former
R&C Tours office in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Saipan in Garapan
and you will get a rare treat — a smorgasbord of breathtaking works of
art created by the island’s artists.
Allow
your senses to roam and feast on the products the artists will be
sharing to the public for a whole month. Take a tour and you will be
transported from the past to the present through beautiful artwork as
seen through the eyes of each artist.
Take home works of art to adorn your
favorite spots in the house, made but the island’s traditional artists
Martin Castro, Maria Camacho, Mariana Ebilane, Prescilla Pangelinan,
Melchy Billy, Ginni Bachani, Rodney Camacho, Edward Terlahe, Priscilla
Pangelinan, Vicente Duenas, Lucy Sablan, and Carmen Gaskins.
From stone mortars and pestle, mats and
baskets painstakingly hand-woven from leaves, intricate wooden carvings
where each piece tells and records interesting stories of the islands,
knitted shawls and hanging decorations from indigenous materials, vases
and household ornaments made out of recycled materials, and more.
All
over the room are simple shells and stones found on the island’s
beaches everywhere, but when they came through an artist’s hands, they
come out as stunning pieces of necklaces, earrings, bracelets and other
ornaments you would be proud to wear anytime.
Framed along the walls of the exhibit
area are big and small paintings and photographs of the island’s inland,
aerial and underwater attractions captured through the lens by the
CNMI’s well-known photographers, and through the brushes of the skillful
painters including Greg Elliot, Jack Hardy, Leslie Ware, Lawrence Lee,
Joseph Weaver, Ernie David, Maritess Sablan, and Rosana C. Villaraiz
who generously share their talents through inspiring paintings and
photos that you would want to bring home to hang on your walls.
These and more are available for viewing
and for sale at the ongoing Cultural Heritage and Arts Pacifica Exhibit
hosted by the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture. It runs until
September 30.
Visit the exhibit area anytime from 10
a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday
for a real art feast for free.
The whole Arts Council family under its
executive director Angel S. Hocog is inviting the public to come and
support the local artists, and bring home a piece of these treasures
with you.
For more information about the exhibit, call the Arts Council at 322-9982/3.
