Guerrero, An, Whang, and Han top Pacifica Art Contest

Four CNMI students—Maria Guerrero of Mount Carmel School, Byul An of Saipan Community School, Chia Hui Whang of Saipan International School, and Ashlynn Han of Brilliant Star Montessori—topped the 8th Annual Pacifica Art Contest of Pacifica Insurance Underwriters.

With a contest theme of “Stay Covid-19 free” this year, the contest drew a total of 177 entries from all categories which included traditional, digital and three dimensional. The digital and physical three-dimensional (3D) categories were newly added to the contest this year.

Guerrero won first place in the traditional category one, An won in the traditional category two, Whang won first place in the digital category, and Han won for the three dimensional category.

The company’s president, Shirley Sablan, said this year’s theme “resonates with all of us. The world has never been smaller than it is today, as we face this global pandemic together working in unison to put an end to this deadly virus. We are completely blown away by the artworks shared in this year’s contest. You can feel the pain and the strength simultaneously expressed in every piece. We are extremely grateful to all artists and volunteers who had a hand in this.”

The judges for this year’s contest were:

• Traditional Category judges: 2021 Miss Marianas Savannah Lynn Delos Santos, Kagman High School art teacher Yolani Camacho, and journalist/writer Ulysses Sabuco;

• Digital and 3D judges: 2020 Miss Northern Marianas Earth Maria “Ria” Terlaje, Northern Marianas College marketing manager Raynard Travilla, and Saipan Music and Dance Studio choreographer Rhine Russell

The Pacifica Art Contest is a visual arts competition designed to nurture and support local talent and the arts. The contest has gathered over 2,000 artworks since it was first introduced in 2014.

With the additional two categories, which now allows artists to submit their art in a digital format and as a 3D physical piece, Pacifica Insurance hopes that more artists will participate in its annual art contest.

“The world has gone digital. We have all grown accustomed to producing art using applications on our phones, tablets, etc. However, we can never replace the effect that a physical art piece gives us as we touch, feel, and appreciate it in person. Expanding our art contest with physical 3D was an essential and exciting move for us,” said Sablan.

Artworks from every category were judged on four criteria: creativity and originality, quality of artwork, clarity of theme, and overall presentation.

Other artists who made it to the Top 10 were:

TRADITIONAL 1:
• Erielle Mendoza
• Daniel Nae
• Sofia Cariaso
• Sayema Sidur
• Althea Lauron
• Geeliana Deleon Guerrero
• Brianna Deleon Guerrero
• Kazzandra Drilon
• Jae Hun Choi

TRADITIONAL 2:
• Yang Sheng Shi
• Earle San Nicolas
• Marisa Wang
• Tian Jiao Xu
• Tian Si
• Isa Nishitani
• Juliana Vergara
• Jhazmyn Nichole Valiente
• Dayul Kwak

DIGITAL:
• Summer Wania
• Angelina Laxama
• Anvrei Batobatan
• Eianne Ladao
• YuJeong Son
• Ezra Alfred
• Jing Lin
• Ralph Molinar
• Greatshen Martin

PHYSICAL 3D:
• Louis Ogo was one of two artists who had an art entry for the 3D category. A video featuring his life-size entry will be featured on Pacifica’s company social media pages.
•
Pacifica Insurance invites the public to visit their office in Susupe to view and enjoy all top placing art pieces of this year’s art contest, which will be on display throughout the holiday season.

To view top placing art entries online, log on to www.pacificains.com/artcontest. You may also find them on Pacifica’s Facebook, Instagram and YouTube social media pages. (PR)