The Guam Humanities Council, in partnership with Isla Center for the Arts, is sponsoring an Educators Workshop for Picturing America, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities aimed at strengthening the teaching, learning and study of American history through art. Developed with the American Library Association, Picturing America uses images of some of the most significant and iconic artworks representing the unique and diverse experiences of the nation and its peoples. The images used in the program are from a diverse collection of artworks and artists, including Winslow Homer’s The Veteran in a New Field (1865), Louis Tiffany’s stain glass image of Autumn Landscape—The River of Life (1923-4), Dorothea Lange’s famous Depression Era photograph of Migrant Mother (1936), and James Karales’ stirring image from the American civil rights movement, Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights (1965). Each image is accompanied by a description of the artwork and the artist, as well as associated teaching activities designed for elementary, middle and secondary school students.

The workshop series will be held in February 2009 at the Isla Center for the Arts on the University of Guam campus in Mangilao, Guam. Velma Yamashita, Director, Isla Center for the Arts, will conduct the workshops. While the workshops are open to teachers from the Guam Public School System, due to limited space, the workshops are limited to two representatives per school. For more information about Picturing America, visit www.picturingamerica.neh.gov. To learn more about the educators workshop series, contact Dominica Tolentino at dominica_ghc@teleguam.net, or Monaeka Flores at monaeka_ghc@teleguam.net.

Click here for Workshop Information.

A Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition

Maila yan boka!

The Guam Humanities Council (GHC) is pleased to announce a special Guam tour of Key Ingredients: America by Food, an exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution. Developed as part of the Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program, Key Ingredients explores the connections between Americans and the foods they produce, prepare, preserve and present at table. From hotdogs to laulau, pierogies to tacos, fiestas to Thanksgiving dinner, Key Ingredients presents a provocative and thoughtful look at the historical, regional and social traditions that merge in everyday meals and celebrations. Through a selection of artifacts, photographs and illustrations, Key Ingredients examines the evolution of the American kitchen and how food industries have responded to the technological innovations that have enabled Americans to choose an ever wider variety of frozen, prepared and fresh foods. The exhibition offers a multitude of opportunities for hosting organizations to link their own collections and local food specialties to the panoramic story told in the exhibition. Designed for institutions that lack regular access to traveling exhibitions due to space and cost limitations, MoMS exhibits such as Key Ingredients are particularly aimed at small institutions in rural areas and underserved communities.

Museum on Main Street is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the Federation of State Humanities Councils (FSHC). Different humanities councils in the 50 states and territories are eligible to host a MoMS exhibition tour. Key Ingredients is the second exhibition hosted by the Guam Humanities Council, the first being the debut tour of New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music, which opened in April 2007. To learn more about Museum on Main Street and Key Ingredients, check out www.museumonmainstreet.org. For more information about the local tour of Key Ingredients on Guam, contact the Council at 472-4460/1 or Dominica Tolentino by email at dominica_ghc@teleguam.net.

GHC 2009 Community Grant Cycle Begins: Request for Proposals

The Guam Humanities Council is calling for proposals for its 2009 grant cycle. Proposals specifically for humanities-based projects aimed at a public audience will be considered. Due to limited funding and the Council's sponsorship of the Smithsonian Institution's Key Ingredients: America by Food exhibition tour, the Council is offering only small grants (or "mini grants") not more than $1000 for eligible organizations conducting humanities-focused projects in 2009-2010. Grant forms and guidelines can be picked up at the Council's office located on the first floor of the Reflection Center in Hagatna. Forms in Portable Document Format (.pdf) are also available for download at the Council's website (see "Grant Application" in menu above). Proposals must be received by the GHC office no later than March 13, 2009.

A Grant Writing Workshop will also be offered on January 10, 2009, at the Bank of Guam headquarters, 10th floor conference room in Hagatna. There is a $25 participation fee, payable to the Guam Humanities Council. The workshop is open to the public. Registration ends on January 3, 2009. For more details about the grant program and grant writing workshop, please e-mail Dominica Tolentino at dominica_ghc@teleguam.net.

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Guam Humanities Council Announces Black Grace Guam Tour

The Guam Humanities Council is currently in the planning stages of introducing the internationally acclaimed dance company, Black Grace, to Guam. The tour, planned for March 30 through April 5, 2009, represents a very exciting opportunity for the island community, and specifically for youth, to build capacity and increase efforts to preserve and promote Guam’s unique culture and identity in a time of anticipated change and transformation.

For the past ten years Black Grace has been New Zealand’s leading contemporary dance company. Comprised of Maori and Pacific Islands dancers, the company holds international acclaim for its artistry, creativity and innovation, becoming a world leader in Pacific contemporary dance. Founder and Artistic Director Neil Ieremia, who was the recipient of the prestigious 2005 Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award for his outstanding creative achievements, fuses traditional Pacific and contemporary dance into a powerful expression of history, identity and art.

The Guam tour will include Mr. Ieremia, six dancers and a technical director. The Council is working with a committee comprised of local dance leaders, cultural experts, business people and university representatives to fully plan the itinerary and logistics for the tour. The Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities (CAHA) is also an important tour partner.

Given the Council’s mission to “foster community engagement and dialogue, inspire critical thinking and celebrate diversity through the power of the humanities,” the tour will include a series of workshops with dance leaders, Chamorro dance groups and other youth-centered dance companies, as well as middle and high school students on the more technical and artistic aspects of dance. Discussion on larger issues of identity and authenticity as expressed in performance art also will take place. In addition, the Council will sponsor presentations and discussions at the University of Guam with theater arts and Micronesian Studies students. The Guam premier of the film, “Black Grace: From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow,” is likewise planned, followed by discussion with Mr. Ieremia. The weeklong tour will culminate with a gala dinner event on Saturday, April 4, 2009, featuring Black Grace and selected Guam dancers.

According to the Council’s executive director Dr. Kimberlee Kihleng, “We look forward to presenting this exciting venture in promoting performance art as a means of cultural preservation, expression and innovation.”

For more information about The Black Grace Guam Tour, contact the Guam Humanities Council at 472-4460/1.

For more information about Black Grace visit: www.blackgrace.co.nz/

To view a trailer of the film, “Black Grace: From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow,” visit: http://www.piccom.org/

Photos by Felicitas, Courtesy of Black Grace

The Guam Humanities Council has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities We The People Initiative for a new project entitled, 8000, How Will It Change Our Lives: Community Conversations on the US Military Buildup on Guam. The project will encourage island residents to examine the impact of the relocation of military personnel and their families to Guam in 2014.

The upcoming transfer of 8000 US Marines from Okinawa, 9000 dependents and thousands of additional laborers will result in the largest in-migration of people to the Marianas in history. The need to build up the island’s infrastructure and provide adequate housing and other facilities for the military and civilian population will impact the environmental, cultural and social landscape of the Marianas and the larger Pacific region. While the potential effects of the buildup are still being debated, the Council’s overarching goal with the “8000 Project” is to provide a space in which a diversity of voices and opinions that speak to the upcoming military transfer can be heard. With this grant, the Council in partnership with other community-based organizations will conduct a series of community conversations and present an interdisciplinary academic conference that addresses various issues related to the anticipated military buildup on Guam, including ethnic group relations, labor and economic interests, public safety, health, education, social welfare and land resources.

According to the Council’s executive director Dr. Kimberlee Kihleng, “The impending military expansion on Guam is the most significant issue facing our island community today. Through this We The People grant project, the Council and its partners hope to assist community members in better understanding and addressing the profound impact the expansion will have on our island and people.”

The Guam Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization that provides foundational support, educational resources and humanities-based activities for the people of Guam. The Council’s diverse programs include family literacy, exhibits, film discussion series, cultural workshops and performances, community grants and Guampedia, an online encyclopedia about Guam.

We the People is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities that supports projects that strengthen the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture. Previous GHC projects funded by We the People grants include Families Under Siege: Stories of Family Life in Japanese Occupied Guam (2004), A Journey Home: Camp Roxas and Filipino American History in Guam (2006) and for Guampedia, Religion’s Role in Guam History (2005) and The US Territory of Guam, “Where America’s Day Begins” (2007).

Guampedia, Guam’s Online Encyclopedia, added 19 entries about the music and arts of our island community. These entries added to the 77 entries already online in the Arts Section of the site, bringing the total to 96.

With these entries also come 155 new photographs of the artists and their artwork as well as 14 video clips that can also be seen on Guampedia. The Arts Section project was funded by a grant from the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency (CAHA) to the Guam Humanities Council for the Guampedia project.

The Arts Section now conveys the history and provides a description of each of the following art forms on Guam:

Note: Starred (*) entries were added to the site earlier, but are listed here to show the entire set of entries under each grouping. There are also many artist and musician profiles in this section. Chamorro recipes are found in the Food Section of the site, and entries about building methods and historic structures are in the Architecture Section.

This body of work was completed under the direction of Shannon Murphy, Guampedia’s managing editor, and Dr. Judy Flores, the Guampedia Arts Chairwoman. Besides Murphy and Flores, the editorial team is comprised of Tanya Mendiola, assignment editor, and Nathalie Pereda, media archivist. Arts Section writers include Velma Yamashita, Ric Castro, Fanai Castro, Judy Flores, Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Julius Cena, Connor Murphy, Michael Clement Sr., Michael Clement Jr., Robert Sajnovsky, and Michelle Bednarzyk.

Project Background

Guampedia is a long-term project of the Guam Humanities Council that is intended to be a comprehensive online encyclopedic resource about the history, culture and contemporary issues of Guam.

The project is funded through grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Guam Preservation Trust, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bank of Guam and other sources. Guampedia is also being developed with the cooperation of the University of Guam and many other community institutions and organizations, including the Department of Chamorro Affairs, the Guam Museum, the Guam Library, the Guam Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Historic Resources, the Archdiocese of Agana, Micronesian Seminar and the Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center. Through peer-reviewed entries and accompanying media, Guampedia provides an important educational and informational resource for Guam teachers and schoolchildren, for Chamorros living away from Guam, for visitors to our island, and for those who want a richer understanding of our island and its people. Guampedia was launched in April 2008 with the first 350 entries. The entry count is now up to 524. To date, more than 100 people have been a part of this project, conducting research, writing, peer reviewing, fact checking and copyediting to complete the initial Guampedia entries and media. Another 900 entries are planned and will be added to the site as they are completed. Guampedia will always be an ongoing and dynamic project that will be updated and added to regularly as events unfold and technology allows.

Visit the site at www.guampedia.com.