Matauaina Gwendolyn To’omalatai Whitcombe is the President and Creative Director of Teine Lalelei Dance Academy, which she co-founded with her husband, Terrence Whitcombe, in August 2019 in American Samoa. The academy has grown to include around 80 dance students. Whitcombe established the academy with a heartfelt mission: “to preserve our culture one siva at a time.” Having studied dance in O’ahu, Hawaiʻi, under the guidance of many skilled kumu (dance instructors), she draws from her rich experience in various Polynesian dance styles. Teine Lalelei Dance Academy offers a diverse range of dance lessons on the island. Over her six years in American Samoa, the academy has aimed not only to teach dance but also to enlighten young women about the diverse cultures of the Pacific, helping them cultivate an appreciation for their heritage and cultural values.
Michelle Pier is a Guam-born artist, creative entrepreneur, and mother of two with over 20 years of experience creating, exhibiting, and selling original paintings locally and internationally. Alongside her studio practice, she is dedicated to fostering creativity in the community through classes, workshops, and events that emphasize the creative arts, personal expression, and entrepreneurship. She is especially passionate about mentoring young artists, equipping them with practical tools and encouragement to pursue art as both a calling and a career. Above all, she shares her journey to inspire others to feel empowered to create and thrive.
Starting his musical journey in freshman year of high school was not exactly the earliest start for some, but it is just enough to change a life. Nathaniel Dafrad was a Tri-M Music alumnus who studied as a percussionist under Max Ronquillo Jr. for two years and then self-studied. He obtained knowledge from every performance he participated in, from the GATE Theatre Production’s Cinderella to the Guam Territorial Band’s anniversary concerts.
He took to the stage and rose to new heights well within his high school career, beginning with his first off-island tour to Saipan back in 2018 while representing Okkodo High School in multiple band exchanges, and extending to his first introduction to the Summa Cum Laude Music Festival in Vienna 2024 where he would represent the Tumon Bay Youth Orchestra and the Guam Territorial Band. Dafrad aims to share the joy and wondrous journey of music by aiding in any musical project on the island.
Nicholas King is a product of the 1979 Am. Samoa Arts Council’s Summer Youth Program held at the Jean P. Haydon Museum in Fagatogo. “Nick” was 13-years old when the late Mary Pritchard introduced him to Samoan Siapo making. He was selected by Mary and the American Samoa Arts Council to tour with the Arts Council Choir as a Siapo demonstrator. He toured with the group for 5 years. His artwork has developed from using traditional U’a, natural dyes to using modern materials, items, inks, and paints. King’s true belief is that “our only limit… is our imagination.”
Nofo T. Alofagaimanu proudly from Vailoatai and Tula villages in American Samoa. A traditional weaver in Samoan handicrafts, participated in Pacific Arts Festival for 2 years as a student representing American Samoa as a siapo(tapa) maker, loves braiding hakus(pale) and leis(ulas) for traditional occasions if requested. Taught by her Late grandmother, ASCC instructor Regina Meredith, practices all these skills and knowledge through traditional and visual arts. Her art honors Samoan Culture, women duties in connection with family, church, village as well with her community as a whole. She also shares her gifts in schools, church, women committees and a vision to preserve these Indigenous arts in any form of activities through storytelling, exhibits, performs orator duties through family functions, creativity and cultural healing as well.
Her passion is to let all single artists in American Samoa work together so that we can make a difference to uplift our Pacific traditions with respect, especially speaking our own mother tongue languages. She dedicated her accomplishment for loving to write short children’s stories to her mother Sara Unasa-Teo, her daughters, grandchildren and her husband Aofagaimanu for never ending support.
Patrick Camacho, devoted teacher who has paved the way to young minds to continue their education about Chamorro culture and language. He’s a teacher within Guam Department of Education and a Saina(teacher) and creator of Guma’ Ma Higa Dance Academy, having numerous students walk through all wanting to expand and explore the meaning of Chamorro. He credits much of his learning and teaching to Saina Frank Rabon, who has taken the initiative to find the true Chamorro roots in dance and chant and has bestowed it upon his students, making it their goal to teach the people of Guam.
Peter R. Onedera is a storyteller from Sinajana, Guam. He speaks, reads, and writes in a bilingual format incorporating the indigenous language of CHamoru along with English. His talk story skills began in childhood from elders in his clan. Through the years, he created additional skills using situational scenarios, costumes, props, and puppets in presentations abroad and in schools. He has also written books, plays, poems, academic articles, and taught in the island’s school system from elementary to the University of Guam.
He is also a noted playwright, having written over one hundred plays and staged and directed nearly half of them on Guam, Saipan, Northern and Southern California, Hawaiʻi, and in the Festivals of Pacific Arts in Palau, the Solomon Islands, as well as Guam’s hosting of the 12th FESTPAC in 2016.
Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Crafts&Visual Arts
From the villages of Aoloau and Fagasa, Renisha Reid now resides in Vaitogi with her husband Tyrone and their four children—Jordan, Janae, Jesalyn, and Jrue. Her cultural journey began with music and dance and has grown into creating clothing, accessories, and crafts that reflect Samoan values and beauty. Inspired by the women in her life—her mother, sisters, aunts, and close friends—Reid blends creativity with community, honoring family, uplifting traditions, and sharing cultural pride with the next generation.
Rudy Rivera is a Chamoru cultural practitioner raised in Santa Rita, Guam, who also specializes in graphic design, video, and photography. From his involvement within the different guma, he increased his traditional knowledge which led him to utilize his graphical skills to further promote his indigenous heritage.
His preferred art medium is photography His photos capture stories of the CHamoru people, its cultural practices and traditions, as well as the beautiful scenery and its lanmarks around the Marianas Islands. Through his photos, he aims to encourage and safeguard the CHamoru culture, its image, and traditions practices.
Ruta’ Tauiliili-Mahuka is a painter and crafter from Tafuna, American Samoa. Trained in painting by her grandfather, she focuses on island seascapes as well as close ups of island flora and fauna. She is also a crafter and creates wire jewelry that incorporates coconut, lava and shell beads as well as sea glass harvested from local beaches. Her work aims at raising awareness about environmental issues by using nature as both subject and materials. Her goal is to engage the viewer and to try and strengthen their relationship with island environments from the tropical forests to marine ecosystems.
Samantha Teleso is a wife and a mother who photographs creative portraits in her free time. Raised as a U.S. Army brat, she moved to her ancestral home of American Samoa at 29 and ran a family photography business for several years before pausing to focus on her growing family. Teleso fulfills her passion of directing and photographing creative portraits that highlights American Samoa’s empowering women, breathtaking landscapes, and natural elements. Her goal to host a creative portrait event in American Samoa deems to connect its photography community and local businesses all for the sake of creating art.
Sarojni Singh is an artist from Leone, American Samoa. She has a wide range of artistic expressions ranging from painting to jewelry making to flower preservation. She started a small business called “Roji Ella Handmade” where she creates earrings out of mostly polymer clay and adds a Polynesian twist. She has also collected local flowers in American Samoa, preserves them and turns them into jewelry and adds them to her paintings as well. Singh acknowledges that the Samoan Art class she took in college taught by her teacher Regina Meredith gave her valuable knowledge of Traditional Samoan art forms that still inspires her work today.
Shannon Quan Iriarte was born and raised on the island of Guahan. In May 2016, she graduated with a bachelor’s of Arts in Theatre with a focus on Theatre for Young Audiences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She had designed shadow puppets for “Secrets of Green-Wood” at the 2018 New York Theater Festival Winterfest and “The Cadaver Synod: A Pope Musical” at the 2017 New York Musical Festival.
She performed as a puppeteer for the 2018 Jim Henson Foundation Puppetry Residency’s performance “Ruby and Charlie” at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. From 2017-2019, she performed with The Shadow Box Theatre, a children’s puppetry theater company in Brooklyn, NY. Most recently, she co-devised and created a tall puppet for Breaking Wave Theatre Company’s award winning devised piece, “We Will Not Go Silent”. She continues to use her passion for puppetry to help reinforce Guahan’s indigenous Chamorro culture and language.
Susan Castro-Cabrera was born and raised on the island of Rota, now residing in Saipan, CNMI. Growing up in a close-knit island community, she learned sustainable living, service, and the value of cultural heritage. She credits her parents for instilling in her the values of family, faith, tradition, hard work, and education.
A cultural practitioner, Castro-Cabrera aspires to promote the Chamorro Healing Arts through storytelling, outreach, and sharing of medicinal samples. She is inspired by her mother, a cultural healer, who taught Susan the traditions and benefits of the Chamorro medicine and coconut oil. Her project honors her mother’s memory, her elders, and ancestors, ensuring this knowledge is preserved, practiced, and passed on to future generations.
Tamara Burton is a costuming and mixed media artist with 3+ decades of experience. She has been Lead Costume Designer for Guam’s World Theater Productions since 2018. She designed and produced costumes for Lion King Jr, Beauty and the Beast, Moana Jr, Frozen Jr, Jesus Christ Superstar, Dare to Dream, Mamma Mia, and more. She is honored to be a part of WTP, bringing high quality musical theater to the island and encouraging the development of local performers (many of them children). She is a family historian and writer, when she’s not designing and sewing.
Tamiano Gurr is a poet, community advocate, and cultural storyteller from American Samoa. He is the co-founder of Pacific Roots Open Mic (P.R.O.M.), a youth-led nonprofit that fosters creative expression, cultural pride, and mental wellness through spoken word, music, and storytelling. Raised in the village of Maloata, Gurr draws inspiration from Samoan traditions, the land, and ocean. Guided by community elders and local artists, his work bridges generations and uplifts Pacific voices. Through performances, workshops, and advocacy, he creates safe spaces where young people can share their truths, celebrate identity, and build connections rooted in culture.
Tanya Salas is a proud Micronesian and Polynesian, hailing from Nukuoro Atoll, a Polynesian enclave in the outer islands of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Raised in a family that cherishes and upholds their cultural heritage through traditional weaving and carving, she has made the Northern Mariana Islands her home for over two decades.
Salas’ deep passion for her Polynesian and Micronesian roots drives her active engagement in her community, where she practices cultural traditions such as dancing, weaving, and beading to create intricate jewelry. As the owner of a small business, Tahine’s Creations, she produces and sells handmade handicrafts, including fresh and artificial flower crowns, leis, and floral accessories. Committed to preserving and promoting these cultural arts, Salas teaches at local schools, guiding students in crafting and wearing these traditional pieces, thereby fostering cultural pride. She has also shared short videos showcasing the projects that keep her engaged daily.
Vicente Salas II, also known as “Ben,” is an indigenous Chamorro independent filmmaker, spoken word poet, hip hop artist, photographer, and writer with deep ties to Saipan, Guam, and Hawaii. A deeper dive into his familial roots also reveals a rich tapestry of Carolinian (Satawalese), Spanish, African, Filipino, and Scottish ancestry.
From an early age, he has traveled globally, fostering a lifelong passion for uniting diverse cultures and communities through a seamless blend of traditional and contemporary filmmaking and poetic arts. Beyond his cinematic endeavors, Salas’ career achievements include working as a journalist for publications like Marianas Variety and serving his native Marianas community as a former caseworker and indigenous Chamorro cultural advocate for the CNMI Indigenous Affairs Office. Today, he continues to create compelling film projects under his Todu Båli Media banner, dedicated to bridging cultures and inspiring meaningful connections through his art.
Victoria Joy Sewell, through a culturally diverse upbringing and following intuition, discovered a home in Saipan. Her art serves as a visual representation of sensations that transcend our immediate perception. We all experience moments when something within us undergoes a profound transformation due to a special connection.
Sewell’s pursuit is to capture these fleeting moments, aiming to offer viewers a sense of tranquility, healing, and self-connection. By embracing presence, they can contemplate the healing peace that arises when we recognize our inherent transcendence of the physical realm—a lesson deeply ingrained in her through Saipan, inspiring and informing her art, teaching and volunteering.
William Junior (Repeki) Adrillano is a cultural artisan from the village of Tanapag, Saipan. Taught by a wide circle of family and friends, he practices traditional weaving, carving, and other indigenous crafts.
Adrillano honors the many mentors who shaped his journey by sharing his work with others. While he finds joy in creating for loved ones, he now hopes to connect more deeply with his community through his art. Inspired by Acts 20:35, he believes “there is more happiness in giving than in receiving,” and seeks to pass on the beauty of Chamorro and Carolinian traditions.