Hyatt and DCCA kick off exhibit of CNMI female artists

Guests look through an artist’s artwork at the ribbon-cutting ceremony that kick-started Hyatt’s special exhibit featuring the art of local women creators at the Hyatt Regency Saipan in Garapan last Thursday. (CHRYSTAL MARINO)

As a part of their celebration of Women’s History/International Month, Hyatt Regency Saipan, in collaboration with the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, kicked off last Thursday their monthlong special exhibit featuring resident female artists and their crafts at the resort hotel’s lobby in Garapan.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in the hotel’s lobby, with several Hyatt Regency and DCCA staff, featured artists, their families, and several community members present. The special exhibit also ties in to the fact that March is the CNMI’s Women’s Month. The exhibit would continue weekly every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from 10am to 6pm. On those days, featured artists will be showing off their crafts and artworks to Hyatt guests and visitors, and the items will be available for purchase.

Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture’s folk arts coordinator Sepe Gloriana Teuira thanksed Hyatt and the members of the community during the ceremony. “…I hope that we can see you all come and support our artists, hope to see your customers learn from our artists, but most of all I hope we keep this collaboration going in the years to come.”

Hyatt Regency Saipan general manager Simon Graf shared his excitement about the event and said that, although Hyatt is an American franchise, the Hyatt Regency Saipan, which has a history of over 40 years on the island, deeply respects the islands’ history and embraces the local culture. Graf said this exhibit is not only a way for artists to collect revenue, but more of a way to preserve their skillset and culture.

“The local community is a fundamental part of our business,” said Graf, and, as part of this community, Hyatt is happy to give this kind of platform for artists to exhibit their craft, not only for the community to view, but also for the tourists and guests from around the world. With these sort of exhibits as one of Hyatt’s nonprofit engagements, Graf said they would not be collecting revenue to feature such artists.

Graf said the Hyatt art gallery is no new endeavor, but features the work of local artists all year round. He said that if resident artists are interested in featuring their work in the gallery, they can contact the Hyatt Regency Saipan. For this edition, though, the number of artists to be featured have already been set. For this special edition, each artist would have their own “spotlight,” as each exhibit will feature the art of four women at a time, and would rotate artists each time. The artists in this exhibit have been selected through DCCA.

One of Thursday’s featured artists, Jadine Hocog, welcomes the opportunity that Hyatt is providing. “I think living on an island, it’s really great to showcase our cultures through our crafts, through our practices, especially our demonstrations.” Hocog said a lot of people often don’t know what the CNMI culture is all about, but with these exhibits they can take little bits of knowledge based on what will be showcased or offered through art, or attire, etc.

Having been an artist since 2011, Hocog said that if she could encourage other new artists, she would tell them to get out there and showcase their talents. “You have a skill. You can create something beautiful and then share it with people. Whether showcasing it, or teaching people how to weave, or anything. Everybody has a talent; they just need to find that.”