Artists and cultural practitioners told lawmakers last June 9 that long-delayed payments from the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture have left many struggling financially, prompting renewed calls for structural reforms to ensure artists are compensated in a timely manner.
During public comments before the House Standing Committee on Tourism, artist advocate Rowina Ogo said the artists she represents are collectively owed more than $40,000 for completed projects, including more than $30,000 tied to Miss Northern Marianas Descent-related work.
“They did their part, they completed their projects, they fulfilled their obligations, yet still waiting on payment,” Ogo told lawmakers. She disputed previous estimates regarding the amount owed and stressed that artists had already completed the work required of them.
“These are real projects completed by real people who invested real time, real labor, and resources,” she said.
Ogo also questioned why some projects completed later had already been paid while earlier projects remained unresolved.
“At some point, we have to stop calling something a delay or pending and start calling it what it is, a failure to accountability and unprofessionalism,” she said.
Another artist, Analee Villagomez, echoed those frustrations and questioned why artists who had already completed work were still waiting for compensation.
“We earned our money,” Villagomez said. “If anybody was to work anywhere else, they would get paid because they earned it. So why are we treated differently?”
Villagomez said she has spent months trying to understand the payment process and determine where delays were occurring.
She questioned whether the bottleneck lies with the Department of Finance, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, CCAC, or another stage of the process, and also called for better outreach to local artists.
“Where's the information for other artists?” she asked. “Why didn't we know about it?”
The hearing, chaired by Rep. Marissa Flores, examined outstanding invoices and delayed payments owed to artists and cultural practitioners who participated in government-sponsored events and programs administered through CCAC.
Flores said lawmakers had identified more than 20 artists and cultural practitioners collectively owed in excess of $30,000, with some obligations dating back to November 2025 and others unresolved for more than a year.
“The non-payment of these artists points to something deeper,” Flores said. “A gap within the framework that governs how CCAC engages and compensates artists.”
She noted that lawmakers had been unable to locate clear regulations governing artist payments, timelines, fee schedules, documentation requirements, or dispute-resolution procedures.
“What we're here to examine is not those individuals. It is the structure itself so we can build something better together,” Flores said.
Rep. Julie Ogo, who represents Rota, said concerns first came to her attention when 16 artists from Rota informed her they were still waiting to receive approved awards, some dating back nearly two years.
“While delayed payments are concerning, my greatest concern is the potential impact of future NEA arts funding for the CNMI,” she said.
She warned that prolonged delays and unspent grant funds could jeopardize future federal arts funding opportunities for artists and cultural organizations throughout the Commonwealth.
DCCA Secretary Francisco Rabauliman said he was disappointed that Finance officials were not initially present for the hearing, noting that DCCA and CCAC are only part of the payment workflow.
“I find it very, very disheartening that the whole process, people who are responsible for the whole process of paying out the artists, are not here,” Rabauliman said. “There's also Finance that should be involved in this.”
Rabauliman pushed back against suggestions that DCCA alone was responsible for the delays, saying his office inherited an incomplete board structure and numerous applications that required additional review and corrections before processing.
“There were a lot of fixes that need to happen,” he said.
According to Rabauliman, applications are reviewed by CCAC, approved by either the executive director or board depending on the amount requested, uploaded into the Munis system, and then routed through additional approval stages before payment can be issued.
CCAC executive director Gloriana Teuira acknowledged that payment delays have persisted for years and are not unique to the current administration.
“It's been happening for a while,” Teuira said. “Hopefully through this meeting, we will establish structure and how to go about it to make it better.”
Teuira said CCAC has already requested authority from Finance to conduct federal drawdowns directly, which she believes could help speed up the payment process.
“We have made the first step on our side to ask Finance if we could be the one to take the drawdown,” she said.
Much of the hearing focused on what lawmakers described as systemic deficiencies within CCAC's governing framework. Testimony revealed that many of the council's regulations date back decades and that no modern standard operating procedures governing artist payments appear to have been formally adopted.
Flores and Rep. Ogo suggested legislative reforms may be necessary to establish payment timelines, accountability measures, and clearer coordination among CCAC, DCCA, Finance, and federal grant administrators.
Despite sharp criticism of the existing process, participants repeatedly emphasized that the goal was not to assign blame but to improve the system.
Rowina Ogo said she hopes the hearing results in meaningful changes for future artists and cultural practitioners.
“Today is not about revisiting the past of frustrations,” she said. “It is about finding solutions, improving communication, strengthening processes, exploring options, and ensuring that future artists do not experience the same challenges.”
She concluded by reminding lawmakers that artists had already fulfilled their responsibilities.
“I did my part, the artists did their part. The documentation exists. The projects were completed,” Rowina Ogo said. “The only question that remains is when will the system do its part?”
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