PROGRAMS

Through the CCAS grants program, the CCAC, schools, teachers, and artists work collaboratively on arts projects and programs to pool resources and achieve the greatest benefits possible.

A continuing effort is made to provide for folk arts (cultural) programs and a specific emphasis on traditional navigation and dance.

We are continuing with our annual folk arts programs that include several major exhibits, festivals, and performance activities, as well as, programs for schools. The CCAC will work in collaboration with other entities to facilitate new folk arts programs. Additionally, the CCAC has communicated with international organizations to include the participation of local folk artists in their activities. The CCAC will also continue to work vigorously to make programs accessible to all.

For tourism, the CCAC will continue to work with hotels and retailers to provide space for artists at their facilities and to carry artwork produced by resident artists at their establishments. The CCAC has been quite successful in the past year with this, as the largest visitor related retailer, Duty Free Shoppers, now provides several exhibit spaces for artists to demonstrate and sell their work. The Hyatt, Pacific Islands Club, Hafa Adai, Dynasty, and Nikko Hotels have provided performance, exhibit, and/or demonstration space.

Following is a list of ongoing programs and planned activities:

• Utt Building – Master Folk Artists Program
  Master craftsmen in the art of the construction of traditional structures are working with novice builders and students at the Office of Carolinian Affairs on the construction of two traditional houses. The program takes participants through the entire process of construction from wood selection and preparation, to rope-making and weaving. It will also include carvers, who will work with participants to carve traditional designs on the Utt posts.
• Art Workshop at the Juvenile Detention Unit
  Local artist Luis Ogo has been working with the youth at the Juvenile Detention Unit (JDU) in the arts of drawing and painting. This round of the program will continue through the end of March. The CCAC has also held folk dance and music classes (ukulele) at the JDU.
• Garapan Street Market
  Every Thursday the CCAC coordinates the Garapan Street Market (GSM), which features local visual and performance arts, as well as local products and food.
• Tanapag Youth Center After-School Arts Program
  Folk and contemporary artists have been holding workshops at the newly opened Tanapag Youth Center. These include traditional weaving, bead working, and painting.
• Eucon School Visiting Artists Program
  Artist Michael Johnston is working with bilingual teachers and students from the Eucon Elementary School in the art of painting. The school caters to students with little or no English speaking skills.
• Oral History to Music Project
  James Manglona, a musician and historian, is working on a project that entails the collection of oral histories, and then the development of the stories into music and song. A CD-ROM of the Oral History to Music Project will be produced. It is the aim of the project to pass on and preserve the oral history through the music.
• Women's History Month Art Exhibit
  Scheduled for March and April 2005, the Women's History Month Art Exhibit will coincide with the CNMI Women's History Month in March. The exhibit will feature folk and contemporary work by resident women artists.
• NMI Artists' Directory
  This is an ongoing project. Currently the CCAC maintains a directory of artists, however, this is limited in information and is meant only for staff consumption. We are collecting information on new artists and additional information on artists in our current directory and will be producing a quality directory for the public. It will be distributed to the public and private sectors and those who regularly seek out art or arts services.
• Filming and Editing Workshops for Youth
  Local filmmakers are working with students on the art of filmmaking and editing utilizing new technologies. The workshop will provide participants with two months of instruction, and participants will team up to produce their own films. Screenings of the films will be made at the 1st Annual Flame Tree Arts Festival Film Festival, which will take place on April 16 at the Dai-Ichi Hotel (tentatively).
• Garapan Elementary School Visiting Artist Program
  Local artist Doug Rankin will work with 1st grade students at the school in the art of banana-print making in April 2005.
• 24th Annual Flame Tree Arts Festival
  This year the largest annual arts festival in Micronesia will feature arts exhibits and demonstrations in over 100 booths, folk and contemporary dance and music performances, traditional canoe exhibits and rides, traditional fishing methods demonstrations, and contests. There will be a Parade of Cultures featuring the islands' numerous ethnic groups in traditional costume, a film festival, and participating delegations from Hawaii, Guam, Palau, the Marshalls, and hopefully American Samoa. The festival is scheduled for April 15, 16, and 17.
• Lending Box Project
  Karen Benson is leading a group of teachers who will canvas CNMI schools to work with teachers at those schools on the use of the lending boxes. The teachers have been meeting and are arranging schedules with the schools. The in-school portion of the program is slated to begin in late March.
• Junior and High School Invitational Art Exhibit
  The work of junior and high school students from Rota, Tinian, and Saipan will be featured in the exhibit scheduled for May and June 2005 at the NMI Gallery for Arts and Culture.
• Evening Arts Classes
  Musician Sebastian Camacho will be holding "Introduction to Guitar" at the NMI Gallery for Arts and Culture May–July. Additional classes will include papermaking and painting. (We are currently working to identify artists and hours.)

  Summer Events

  • Eco-Arts Festival – July 2005
  • Transitional Living Center Art Workshops
  • Summer Youth Arts Program
  • Cultural Heritage Month Exhibit
  • Arts Pacifika Exhibit
  • Cultural Heritage Month Folk Arts Workshops