Maggie Sablan, chairperson of the FestPac Planning Committee.
Gordon Marciano
AT a public meeting on Saturday, Oct. 21, the CNMI’s 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture Planning Committee discussed the requirements for delegate artist selection.
The 13th FestPac is set for June 6-16, 2024, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
According to Planning Committee Chairperson Maggie Sablan, the CNMI delegation will consist of 100 artists and/or cultural practitioners.
The requirements to be a delegate are as follows: S/he is a registered artist with the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture; is at least 15 years of age; is a U.S. citizen or resident of the CNMI for at least one entire year prior to selection; must have a valid passport; must be a “skilled, versed, and action practitioner in the genre or discipline of choice,” and must provide such educational work, exhibit, and showcase of arts or performing art in the respective genre(s) that have audience appeal.
Moreover, s/he must have the ability to showcase and demonstrate artwork; must be of good moral standing, with no outstanding or previous felony charges; is not a registered sex offender; and must participate in FestPac-related activities and events leading up to the festival.
In addition, performers must be available and committed to scheduled practices; and must be able to work well with others, “especially large numbers in order to showcase a unified performing arts delegation.”
The application asks interested individuals the following questions:
• Why do you want to be a CNMI delegate to the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture?;
• What can you contribute as a delegate?; and,
• What do you hope to gain from this experience?
It also asks for information regarding the recent experience in the artistic or cultural field of the applicant.
A biography, photograph, sample of work, and three professional references are likewise required.
Delegation applications were passed out during the meeting. Sablan said by Tuesday, applications will be available at the office of the secretary of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, the Carolinian Affairs Office and the Indigenous Affairs Office.
The deadline to apply to be a FestPac delegate is 4 p.m., Nov. 10. Applications should be submitted to Building 1213, the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture on Capital Hill.
Planning Committee Vice Chairperson Gordon Marciano emphasized the importance of the application form.
“The very first important thing we need to [do] now is to get to know everybody,” Marciano said. “Get registered so that we can review the groups that are on island, and then also the solo artists, and from there come back together again and then make a decision with all of you.”
For selected delegates, the opportunity to attend FestPac is a “big deal,” Sablan said.
“We, this [planning committee] will take care of your airfare, your lodging, your meals, and transportation to and from the events. Those are what we’ll pay for,” Sablan said.
Gus Kaipat, also a member of the planning committee, stated that the delegation selection process is sensitive.
“Somewhere along the process there will be some disappointments because some people will think they weren’t selected because of unfairness,” he said. “We’re going to look at everyone’s information and then we’ll try as much as possible to give you guys the decision right away so that there’s not much debating to it.”
