Join us for a special reception and gallery tour with the curator and featured photographer Manny Crisostomo to open our latest exhibition: "Pacific Gathering: Photographs and Treasures from the Festival of Pacific Arts, Guam 2016" at the East-West Center Gallery.

Admittance is free and no reservation is required.

About the Exhibition

Every four years since 1972, delegations of cultural practitioners from Pacific Island nations gather for the Festival of Pacific Arts (FestPAC) to celebrate and share their unique and varied Indigenous cultures. Now celebrating its 50^th year, FestPAC was initially established to promote the preservation of Pacific Island traditional arts for future generations. Historically, FestPAC has been envisioned and developed for and by Pacific peoples to gather and share their diverse yet interconnected cultural arts.

The festival emphasizes the importance of traditional art forms, encourages the creation of new forms of artistic expression, promotes the use of Indigenous languages, and raises awareness of and celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Pacific Islanders.

This exhibition features black and white photographs by CHamoru artist and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Manny Crisostomo from the 2016 Festival of Pacific Arts, hosted by Guåhan (Guam). Gifts of material culture that were presented to the Governor of Guam and to the Guam Museum by the participating visiting delegations, as per Pacific protocol, are also displayed. These gifts have been generously loaned by the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency. More than 40 selected gifts are showcased in this exhibition, including artwork, model canoes, paddles, textiles, woodcarvings, weavings, costumes, instruments, and other cultural implements. This exhibition promotes FestPAC, educates gallery visitors about the festival, and celebrates the history and continuity of this unique Pacific Islands gathering. This exhibition coincides with FestPAC's 50^th anniversary (1972–2022) and promotes the Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture, Ho‘oulu Lāhui: Regenerating Oceania, to be hosted by Hawai‘i in 2024.

This exhibition is supported by The Hawai‘i Pacific Rim Society Hideo Murakami Fund for the Arts, Jean E. Rolles, Richard H. Cox, EWC Arts ‘Ohana members, Jackie Chan Foundation USA, The Arthur Goodfriend Intercultural Fund, City & County of Honolulu, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other generous donors.

Join us for a special reception and gallery tour with the curator and featured photographer Manny Crisostomo to open our latest exhibition: "Pacific Gathering: Photographs and Treasures from the Festival of Pacific Arts, Guam 2016" at the East-West Center Gallery.

Admittance is free and no reservation is required.

About the Exhibition

Every four years since 1972, delegations of cultural practitioners from Pacific Island nations gather for the Festival of Pacific Arts (FestPAC) to celebrate and share their unique and varied Indigenous cultures. Now celebrating its 50^th year, FestPAC was initially established to promote the preservation of Pacific Island traditional arts for future generations. Historically, FestPAC has been envisioned and developed for and by Pacific peoples to gather and share their diverse yet interconnected cultural arts.

The festival emphasizes the importance of traditional art forms, encourages the creation of new forms of artistic expression, promotes the use of Indigenous languages, and raises awareness of and celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Pacific Islanders.

This exhibition features black and white photographs by CHamoru artist and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Manny Crisostomo from the 2016 Festival of Pacific Arts, hosted by Guåhan (Guam). Gifts of material culture that were presented to the Governor of Guam and to the Guam Museum by the participating visiting delegations, as per Pacific protocol, are also displayed. These gifts have been generously loaned by the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency. More than 40 selected gifts are showcased in this exhibition, including artwork, model canoes, paddles, textiles, woodcarvings, weavings, costumes, instruments, and other cultural implements. This exhibition promotes FestPAC, educates gallery visitors about the festival, and celebrates the history and continuity of this unique Pacific Islands gathering. This exhibition coincides with FestPAC's 50^th anniversary (1972–2022) and promotes the Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture, Ho‘oulu Lāhui: Regenerating Oceania, to be hosted by Hawai‘i in 2024.

This exhibition is supported by The Hawai‘i Pacific Rim Society Hideo Murakami Fund for the Arts, Jean E. Rolles, Richard H. Cox, EWC Arts ‘Ohana members, Jackie Chan Foundation USA, The Arthur Goodfriend Intercultural Fund, City & County of Honolulu, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other generous donors.