CNMI artists to showcase work at Ta Na'i Animu Exhibit in Guam

Ta Nå’i Ånimu II: Sacred Waters is coming to the Guam Museum - an art exhibit honoring the deep relationships between our bodies, our lands, and the waters that shape and sustain us through the work of artists from across Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

Building on the first Ta Na’i Ånimu exhibition, Sacred Waters uplifts Indigenous perspectives on water, which carries memory, sustains life, and remains at the center of ongoing struggles for environmental justice, self-determination, and cultural survival in the Mariånas archipelago.

The exhibition opens on January 10, 2026, from 3–7 PM, will be on view through February 28, 2026, and features works by more than 35 artists from Tinian, Luta, Saipan, and Guåhan.

We asked some of the CNMI-based artists to respond to the same questions, introducing themselves, their work, intentions, and motivation to create.

Analee Villagomez, Saipan,

Art: local jewelry | Art Exhibit Pieces: Northern Island shell and volcanic black sand jewelry with plain volcanic black sand.

"The revival of the islands north of Saipan motivated me to work on the pieces selected to exhibit at the Guam Museum. We need to know what’s up north of Saipan because what we don’t know about we won’t care about. Every piece used for the art exhibition has been tumbled in our ocean naturally and some are tumbled in a machine with rainwater I collected at home on Saipan. Our Marianas is a part of the ring of fire and the abundance up north must be protected and preserved. We should remember how to barter. Water is life. It not only quenches, it also smooths things overtime when tumbling in it."

Alexis Kwon

"My name is Alexis Kwon and I am a Chamorro-Filipino abstract painter from the island of Tinian. The title of my piece for the Ta Na’i Animu Art Exhibition is “Soul swimming." A lot of my work is motivated by a desire to understand my relationship to Tinian. “Soul swimming” reflects my spiritual connection to the beach. I’ve been swimming in Tinian’s southern beaches since I was a baby. Being in the water is such a beautiful and healing experience, I’d often ask myself, “I can’t be the only one who’s felt this way, right?”. And it makes me think of all the generations of people who once populated Tinian: they probably swam here, too, and maybe even felt that same sense of healing as I do. In that sense, the water on Tinian feels like a meeting of souls. I hope that “Soul swimming” reinforces the idea that our shorelines are sacred spaces. By maintaining these ecosystems, we provide a “checkpoint” for generations of Chamorro people to share a common experience across time. Beaches are fun and enjoyable, but we should always recognize them first as venues for spiritual experience."

Catherine Atalig

"Håfa Adai! My name is Catherine Atalig and I am a daughter of Saipan and Luta. There is such a wide spectrum of experiences on this Earth, and art-making is a way for all of us to express our unique view of the world and speak directly from the heart. My submission for the exhibit is a mixed media oil painting titled Tinayuyot Uchan (“Prayer for Rain”). Aniti dance through maranan uchan, an ancestral skull, as a prayer for rain is invoked. The anitimorph into alaihai tåsi flowers, medicinal vines that weave across our shorelines, as they bridge the sea between tåno manmåtai yan i tåno lina’la (“the world of the dead and the world of life”). This miraculous rain shall seep into all corners of Låguas yan Gåni and water the seeds of sovereignty. The painting holds my father’s bålåku necklace, made in the late 1960’s on Luta. The art piece can be used to display jewelry or other items, charging the ornaments with ancestral protection.

"My intention for this piece is to invoke the spirits of our ancestors and ask for strength and protection in a time where violent colonial systems of oppression dominate. The military desecration of our ancestral homelands is sadly not unique to the Mariånas, but a shared struggle amongst Indigenous peoples across the globe, from Palestine to Sudan to Hawai’i to Turtle Island. I am proud to be Chamorro and am forever grateful for all those who continue to resist cultural erasure. I am reminded that through community, we are able to build strong webs of resistance and ways of being that erode and destroy the leech that is the white supremacist, heteronormative, imperial systems that violate the Earth. This art piece honors the ancient Chamorro practice of ancestral worship. May our ancestors guide us as we build strength to taste liberation in this lifetime.

"I hope people who experience my art at the exhibit feel the protection of our ancestors’ spirits in the Mariånas and absorb some of the love poured into my pieces. We live on islands that root into the deepest trench on this planet and swim in the very same waters our ancestors voyaged, fished, and thrived alongside for thousands of years. We must honor this lineage, the tåno yan tåsi, and regain our islands’ sovereignty."

⁠Jayson Sablan

"My name is Jayson Sablan, from the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, and I will be exhibiting a collection of 40x50cm format photographs titled “Shifting Shores."

"Shifting Shores comes from spending time along the coastlines on Saipan and realizing how much it has changed without myself really noticing. I began photographing these scenes as coastal erosion in Saipan has slowly blended into daily life as it subtly reshapes the places the community gathers, fish, and grows around. My approach was simple as I focused on moments that show how people adapt and carry on. ⁠This work is both a record and reminder that our connection to the ocean is shifting, and it is up to us to decide how we respond."

mona sierra

"My name is Mona Sierra Mangloña (artist name: mona sierra). I am from Luta (Rota). My art practice moves across mediums, including watercolor, poetry, and sewing. For this exhibition, I will be showing a textile landscape piece made almost entirely from preloved and recycled fabrics. The piece recreates a photograph I took of our family fruit farm, Ilek, overlooking the Sasanhåya fish reserve on the south side of Luta."

"⁠It took me time to land on this piece because I love working across many forms. Over the past year, I’ve been especially drawn to sustainable fashion and textile reuse, and to thinking more deeply about how much waste we produce - particularly through clothing. When we slow down and really look, there is an abundance of preloved material that can be reimagined, repaired, and given new life. This piece was created using donated clothing from Rota Women in Action and fabric scraps gifted by a local seamstress."

"With the theme centered on sacred waters, I chose to recreate Ilek because it overlooks a place that is deeply meaningful to my family and community, and one where military extraction has been proposed. This work brings together sustainability, land, water, memory, and resistance - using what already exists to honor what already exists. I hope people walk away seeing that sustainability can live in everyday choices and materials, and that Ilek and Luta are not just landscapes, but living sanctuaries - places that deserve care, protection, and deep respect."