Art by GCA student En Mei Victoria Huang, traditional category one winner.
Art by MCS student Tricia Palacios, digital category winner.
Art by SSHS student Yu Rong Jiang, traditional category two winner.
PACIFICA Insurance Underwriters Inc. concluded its 10th Annual Pacifica Art Contest or PAC on Monday, Oct.16 with a total of 191 art entries.
For the first time in the history of PAC, there were repeat winners for not one but two categories.
2022 PAC traditional category one winner and student of Grace Christian Academy En Mei Victoria Huang secured another win this year for the same category.
2022 PAC digital category winner Tricia Palacios from Mount Carmel School also secured the top spot this year for the same category.
Freshman student from Saipan Southern High School Yu Rong Jiang bagged the traditional category two.
Pacifica Insurance brought back its original art contest theme “Rest assured, it’s Christmas” after temporarily shifting its focus towards lifting the spirits of the people of the Marianas post-Super Typhoon Yutu and during the covid-19 global pandemic between the contest years 2018 and 2022.
“There was an explosion of colors and vibrancy found in every piece entered this year to help us usher in the holiday season and Christmas. We are excited for the awesome turnout and could not be more grateful to the many talents who took part in making our 10th Annual PAC a great success,” said Pacifica Insurance President and CEO Shirley Sablan “The purpose of PAC is to nurture and support local talent and the arts and with over 2,000 entries since holding our first contest back in 2014, we feel we have accomplished just that, and we have countless individuals to thank for its success. To celebrate 10 years of art, we recently introduced an online art exhibition which we named The PAC Gallery to ensure that enjoyment will be at the palm of your hands and in every mobile device and personal computer.”
The PAC Gallery which can be found on www.pacificains.com/artcontest will house and archive top placing artworks starting from year 2014. It will also feature participating artists, contest judges, and educators in the field of art, and will be the permanent home for PAC where details about upcoming contests can be found. Although the company continues to develop and add content to the Gallery with the help of Turnkey Solutions, it is now live and accessible.
Judges
The three judges for this year’s art contest were CNMI Public School System math teacher and the State Teacher of the Year Donovan Tudela, Northern Marianas Humanities Council program manager Naomi Tudela, and PSS Mental Health Program social media specialist Julia Espino.
“This year’s submissions were absolutely phenomenal! The spirit of Christmas is definitely here and I am so proud of the artists and the fantastic artwork they have created,” said Donovan Tudela.
“The Pacifica Art Contest is a celebration of imagination that allows our local young artists to shine, where their talents are recognized, validated, and spread cheer throughout our community,” said Naomi Tudela.
“As one of the judges for the 10th Annual Pacifica Art Contest this year, I must say it was an honor to be part of the process. The incredible work of our young artists and their interpretations of the theme, ‘Rest Assured, It’s Christmas,” left a lasting impact. Each artwork had its own story, providing us with a glimpse into what Christmas means to our young, talented artists. I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Pacifica for marking a decade of hosting this contest and inspiring our youth to go above and beyond their artistic abilities when they enter this contest,” said Julia Espino.
CNMI schools with participating artists included Sinapalo Elementary School, Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Jr/Sr High School, Saipan Community School, Mount Carmel School, Grace Christian Academy, Marianas High School, Saipan Southern High School, Dandan Middle School, Saipan International School, Saipan Seventh Day Adventist School, Green Meadows School, William S. Reyes Elementary School, Garapan Elementary School, San Vicente Elementary School, Oleai Elementary School, Hopwood Middle School, Francisco M. Sablan Middle School, and Agape Christian School.
Categories
This year’s PAC had three separate categories: traditional category 1 for ages 6-11, traditional category 2 for ages 12-17, and the digital category which was open to all ages.
There were 98 entries for traditional category 1, 75 entries for traditional category 2, and 18 entries for the digital category in this year’s art contest.
Mediums allowed for the traditional categories were pen, paint, pencil, charcoal, oil pastel, crayons, and marker.
The digital category was open for photographs, 30-second-long videos, and two-dimensional art in jpg, png and pdf formats.
Winners will receive cash and other prizes.
Artworks will be displayed on the second floor of the Pacifica Insurance at the Joeten building in Susupe until January 9, 2024.
Some of the pieces will be randomly featured on the company’s Instagram and Facebook social media pages and top placing pieces can be viewed on The PAC Gallery.
Winning artworks will be used on various marketing materials, which will include print and social media still photos and video promotional ads.
The staff and management of Pacifica Insurance wishes everyone an enjoyable and safe holiday season!
Pacifica Art Contest digital category winner and Mount Carmel School’s 11th grade student Tricia Palacios received a Certificate of Excellence Award and a cash prize for winning first place in her category. Pacifica Insurance Underwriters Inc. marketing coordinator Dionne Camacho presented the award during a surprise classroom visit. Also in the photo is MCS counselor Tobed Smith, far left, and school principal Filmah Buenaflor, far right. Palacios was also last year’s PAC winner for the same category.
Pacifica Art Contest traditional one category winner and Grace Christian Academy’s 6th grade student En Mei Victoria Huang received a Certificate of Excellence Award and a cash prize for winning first place in her category. Pacifica Insurance Underwriters Inc. automobile department supervisor Keomi Palacios-Rabauliman presented the award during a surprise classroom visit. Also in the photo is GCA teacher Kaley Dilse. Huang was also last year’s PAC winner for the same category.
Pacifica Art Contest traditional two category winner and Saipan Southern High School’s 9th grade student Yu Rong Jiang received a Certificate of Excellence Award and a cash prize for winning first place in her category. Pacifica Insurance Underwriters Inc. marketing coordinator Dionne Camacho presented the award during a surprise visit.
10th Annual Pacifica Art Contest judges from left: CNMI PSS math teacher and State Teacher of the Year Donovan Tudela, Northern Marianas Humanities Council program manager Naomi Tudela, and CNMI PSS Mental Health Program social media specialist Julia Espino.
