The Guam Museum will host Ta Nå’i Ånimu II: Sacred Waters, an educational art exhibition uplifting Indigenous perspectives on water and environmental justice across the Marianas Archipelago.
Opening on Saturday, the exhibit brings together artists, advocates, and community members to explore the deep relationships between bodies, land, and our waters that sustain island life.
Presented by the Micronesia Climate Change Alliance in partnership with Hita Litekyan and community organizers and artists, Sacred Waters builds on the original Ta Nå’i Ånimu exhibition held at the Guam Museum in 2024.
The second installment expands its focus to water as a carrier of memory, life, and resistance. The exhibit most importantly highlights the ongoing struggles for self-determination, environmental justice, and cultural survival throughout Guam, Saipan, Tinan and Rota.
The exhibition features works from more than 35 artists from across the Marianas, showcasing diverse creative practices that reflect both the beauty and vulnerability of island waters.
According to MCCA Director of Communications Cami Diaz Egurrola, the exhibit is intentionally designed to go beyond visual engagement.
“The second exhibit is designed to uplift artists with the intention to foster public education and support community-led environmental action,” she said.
Exhibition curator Kacey Bejado, a descendant of Litekyan, emphasized that Sacred Waters is not only an art show, but part of a broader movement.
Bejado shared that the exhibit represents an alternative way to reach the community beyond traditional forms of protest. By centering art, organizers hope to create accessible spaces for dialogue, learning, and collective action around water protection in the Marianas.
"I am a descendant of Litekyan. My great, great-grandmother grew up there. So we just really tried to figure out what other ways we can bring our movement to the media and to the community. So we were like, what better way than art?"
Opening night from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday will feature a range of community-centered events, including a capsule fashion show by four famalao’an fashion designers, a special performance by Breaking Waves Theater Company, and a teach-in and public comment drive addressing deep seabed mining and the proposed firing range complex.
Families are also invited to experience the Neni corner, created in partnership with the Nenpire and Guam Leaf, offering a sensory space for children.
Beyond opening night, Sacred Waters will host six weeks of water justice workshops, providing education on water issues affecting communities throughout the Marianas Archipelago.
