By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture has delayed the opening of its Christmas exhibit to draw more local participation.
Council executive director Cecilia T. Celes in an interview on Thursday said the opening of the Island Artists and Christmas Crafts Exhibit at the Capital Hill art gallery on Nov. 9 was moved to Nov. 16.
The exhibit ends on Dec. 31.
Celes said they experienced a very low turnout during the recent exhibit on Capital Hill, which they do not want to happen again.
“The reason we moved the Christmas exhibit opening is to try different ways to promote the event,” she said.
This time, she added, they will distribute flyers in various languages to attract more participation from artists and tourists.
The flyers and exhibit announcements will be in English, Chamorro, Carolinian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, Celes said.
The Arts Council will also disseminate information about the exhibit in the community and schools.
Celes admitted that the low turnout for exhibits is a result of the exodus of local talents.
“A majority of our island artists are off-island,” she said. “We went back to our registry and we found that a lot of them have relocated…so for this exhibit we extended the opportunity and invitation to all artists with whatever talent they may have.”
The same Christmas exhibit will also be launched on Tinian and Rota to encourage new “artists.”
“We discovered a lot of talented artists on Rota and Tinian,” Celes said. “I think the challenge on these islands is providing awareness of what kind of programs are available for these artists. I was impressed by their artwork and they will be among the major displays during the Christmas exhibits.”
Celes said the exhibit location has always been the challenge for the council.
“We are now working with various tour agents so that they can make a brief stop at the gallery for our tourists,” she said, adding that the council also tried to secure the multi-purpose center in Susupe for the Christmas exhibit but failed due to its schedule.
The council got $242,000 in federal funding this fiscal year to help island artists.