Guam News - Community Events

Guam - The Guam Humanities Council hosts an evening of poetry, Reading the Fence, as part of the Between Fences and I Kelat exhibitions.

The Guam Humanities Council is pleased to announce the special Guam tour of Between Fences an exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street program. Fences, a dominant feature in our lives and in our history, are more than functional objects; they are powerful symbols of security, industry, agriculture, and land ownership.

The Council also worked with historian Christine Taitano DeLisle, PhD to develop a Guam focused companion exhibition and associated programs entitled I Kelat The Fence: Historical Perspectives on Guamʼs Changing Landscape. The local exhibit explores the relations between Chamorros and fences from a historical, political, and cultural perspective.

The Council has partnered with the Agana Shopping Center to present the second venue and programs on the tour. A closing event for the second venue entitled Reading the Fence will take place on Saturday, June 30. The evening will include readings of original works representing creative responses to fences in our community by several local writers including Charissa Lynn Aguon, Kisha Borja Kichoʼcho, Fanai Castro, Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, Selina Onedera-Salas, John Norman “Metaforce” Sarmiento, and Desiree Taimanglo Ventura.

The tour will continue to two other venues through these venue sponsors:
• Thursday, July 12 – August 16, Palm Village, Harmon Loop Road, Dededo, provided by EC Development
• Thursday, August 23 – September 22, Isla Center for the Arts, University of Guam

Museum on Main Street (MOMS) is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the different humanities councils in the 56 states and territories, which are eligible to host a MOMS exhibition tour. With support and programmatic assistance from the Guam Humanities Council, supplemental exhibitions are created with their own objects, stories and programs that celebrate Guamʼs unique cultural heritage and inspire community pride.

The I Kelat Exhibit and the Guam tour of Between Fences is made possible thought a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Sponsors for the tour include Triple B Forwarders, Bank of Guam, the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency, Delta Airlines, Pay Less Car Rental.

Additional support provided in partnership from the Guam Museum, the University of Guam Micronesia Area Research Center (MARC), MARC Spanish Documents Collection, United States Air Force History Office, Naval Base Guam Public Affairs Office, Northern Marianas Islands Museum of History and Culture, Pacific Historic Parks, and the National Park Service.

Between Fences is the third Smithsonian Institution exhibition hosted by the Guam Humanities Council, the first being the debut tour of New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music, and the second, Key Ingredients – America By Food.

For more information about the local tour and exhibit, contact the Council at 472-4461/0 or email Monaeka at monaeka_ghc@teleguam.net.

To learn more about and Museum on Main Street and Between Fences check out www.museumonmainstreet.org.

To learn more about the I Kelat exhibit and programs visit guamhumanitiescouncil.org