Monica Dolores Baza
Spirit Tree Lino Cut Mixed Media
Hayun Lagu- Fire Tree Lino Cut Mixed Media
Summary
Rooted Exhibit - Featuring artwok by Monica Baza, Donna Birn, Judy Selk Flores, PhD, & Dawn Lees Reyes.
ROOTED
from march 1 to april 6, 2025 at the Guam museum.
The “Rooted Art Exhibit” invites art enthusiasts and cultural explorers alike to the Guam Museum to experience a powerful celebration of creativity through the lens of prominent female artists all rooted in CHamoru culture. Taking place from March 1 to April 6, 2025, this exhibit beautifully intertwines themes of identity, heritage, and outside influence, offering a one-of-a-kind exploration of what it means to be a woman rooted in Guam, in the art world today.
Uniting Styles, Sharing Stories
The exhibit brings together four exceptional artists—Monica Dolores Baza, Donna Borja Birn , Judy Selk Flores, PhD, and Dawn Lees Reyes—each with a distinct artistic voice but united by their shared connection to Guam. While all deeply rooted in the island’s culture and traditions, their works reflect compelling external influences that have shaped their creative journeys.
- Monica Dolores Baza and Donna Borja Birn channel influences from their experiences in the mainland United States and Canada, blending modern and cosmopolitan elements into their work.
- Judy Selk Flores, PhD and Dawn Lees Reyes celebrate the vibrancy and resilience of Guam’s traditions, presenting deeply personal pieces that evoke the memories, landscapes, and spirit of the island itself.
Layers of Meaning, Tied Together by Roots
“Rooted” goes beyond merely showcasing art—it starts a conversation. Through intricate pieces rich with history and emotion, this exhibit explores the intersection of gender, tradition, and contemporary movements. Visitors will witness how these artists’ diverse approach to a celebration of what inspires them, all while staying firmly rooted in the CHamoru heritage.
From bold paintings to amazing sculptures, each medium invites you to uncover the delicate balance between preserving cultural identity and evolving through new ideas.
When and Where to Experience “Rooted”
Dates: March 1 to April 6, 2025
Location: The Guam Museum, Hagåtña
Don’t miss this chance to immerse yourself in the heartbeat of CHamoru culture. Mark your calendars and join us at the Guam Museum to celebrate the journeys of Monica Dolores Baza, Donna Borja Birn, Judy Selk Flores, PhD, and Dawn Lees Reyes.
Together, their artistry paints a vivid picture of what it means to be deeply “Rooted.”
Donna Borja Birn
Verdure Acrylic on Canvas
Beneath Acrylic on Canvas
Fishmonger Acrylic on Canvas
Judy Selk Flores, PhD
Saluklula Inarajan Pools Batik on Silk
Talayeru at Sunset Batik on Silk
Dawn Lees Reyes
Legend of the Flame Tree silk painting
Magicians II Acrylic on Panel
Magicians Acrylic on Panel
Featured Artists:
Monica Dolores Baza
Donna Birn
Judy Selk Flores, PhD
Dawn Lees Reyes
Monica Dolores Baza
MONICA DOLORES BAZA
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Monica has always found complete focus in the world of drawing and painting since she was a child. There are so many inspirational moments, events and sights present in our island culture that Monica expresses in her painting and printmaking mixed media. The meditative process of doing art is highly therapeutic.
EXPERIENCE
~ Visual Arts Staff and artist museum volunteer in the Guam Museum during Guam’s hosting of the 12th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture in 2016. Guahan Visual Artist Delegate participation in the 13th FestPac Hawai’i 2024 Art Exhibit and demonstrated in printmaking at the Festival Village in the Hawai’i Convention Center.
~ Art Workshop instructor of the Manamko artists with fellow artist, Filamore Palomo Alcon, from 2010 through 2016 with grants from the NEA, Guam CAHA, Government of Guam and the Office of the Governor of Guam.
~ BFA (Concordia University, Montreal)
~ Monica joined eight fellow artists in forming “I Acha’ot Guahan Siha”, the Chamorro Artists Association which became a 60-member artist group exhibiting islandwide every month.
~ Monica and four artists created The Guam Gallery of Art in the Chamorro Village, Hagatna in which she and several artists have exhibited for more than 30 years to present.
Other recent gallery exhibits include The Guam Gallery of Art, the Guam Cultural Arts and Humanities Agency Gallery, The Lees-Reyes Art Gallery, Isla Center for the Arts, as well as venues such as Sagan Kotturan Cultural Center in Guinahan CHamoru, The Valley of the Latte in Talo’fo’fo’, Faith Bookstore, Floral Gift Shoppe in PayLess Markets and Lollipops in Saipan.
FEATURES
~ Featured artwork “Guahan Pugua“ on the cover of “Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia” (University of Hawai’i Press, 2019); in “Latte in the Marianas” (The Latte in the Marianas: Art, Icon, and Archeology Project, 2021), and featured artist
and artwork on the cover of and in “The Contemporary Pacific” Volume 35, Numbers 1 & 2 (Center for Pacific Island Studies & University of Hawai’i Press 2023).
~ Permanent collections include Matson Navigation Guam Headquarters, Gloria B. Nelson Public Service Building, Coast 360 Federal Credit Union, Personal Finance Center, GRMC Hospital and Hotel Nikko Guam.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Our artist collaboration for the exhibition, “Rooted”, proffers a spiritual bond to our island Guahan. I am not only paternally “Rooted” but, as an artist, I choose to stay and give homage through my artwork, to the beauty that is spiritual inside as well as outside.
Donna Birn
Donna Borja Birn
Donna is a daughter of Guam who spent significant time in California and has now re-established her artistic roots on the island. Primarily focused on painting, she considers her work a non-verbal expression offering insight into what surrounds us. Spanning her life’s evolving journey, her art transcends time, aiming to captivate viewers with its essence and representation. Donna’s subjects reflect a consistent theme inspired by the beauty that is Guam.
Education
1977 – Graduated Notre Dame High School, Guam
1977-1978 University of Guam
1978-1981 Mount Mary University, Milwaukee (Bachelor of Arts Fashion Design)
Judy Selk Flores, PhD
“ROOTED” EXHIBIT SUBMISSIONS
Judy Selk Flores, PhD
Judy Selk Flores, PhD, has lived in Inalahan, Guam, since moving there from Colorado with teacher parents in 1957. She became fluent in the Chamorro language and married into the culture. She is a product of the Guam public school system and a Masters graduate of the University of Guam Micronesian Studies Program. After teaching secondary school art for 10 years, she worked as a folklorist for the Guam Council on the Arts (CAHA) for the next 10 years. She helped the people of Inalahan found Gef Pa’go Chamorro Cultural Village in Inalahan and served as director, president and development officer until 2011. In 1999 she earned her PhD in Arts of Oceania from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. She retired from the University of Guam in 2006. She has been a professional artist since 1981, and her art is in many public buildings, including a 2014 commission for the Guam Regional Medical Center lobby, measuring 12 ft w x 28 ft high, batik on silk stretched over layered forms.
During her early years of teaching, she began experimenting with the wax and dye art media of batik, which became her primary medium of artistic expression. Flores used the batik medium to paint vivid impressions of Chamorro cultural scenes and activities that were rapidly disappearing in the 1970s. As she continued her master’s and PhD research, her paintings reflected her increased interest in Chamorro history and cultural values.
Website: www.guambatikgallery.com
Batik Workshops: www.guambatikgallery.com/workshops
Facebook/judyflores/guambatikgallery.com
Instagram@guambatikgallery671
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
At age 11 I was UPROOTED from Colorado and replanted in a tropical paradise. Growing up in the very traditional village of Inalahan, I was embraced by my peers and nurtured by my elders. Thanks to such nurturing I have become a folklorist, a historian, and an artist – steeped in CHamoru culture. After 68 years of calling Guam home I am deeply rooted in my community of Inalahan.
I’m passionate about people who are passionate about our beautiful Mariana Islands – the beauty and the good people who inherited these lands, as well as the issues that drive their passion to make things better. But I’m not an active activist. I prefer to observe and reflect; to engage people in discussion about issues – to keep the discussion going so that hopefully issues will be enlightened by the pros and cons and be resolved by collective thinking towards the greater good. So, I’m an idealist. I like to create beauty that extends from my art to my house, to my garden, to my yard, to my village, and throughout my island; and on to our neighboring islands and to the ocean that connects us all.
So my themes for this exhibit refer to my roots into CHamoru culture through legends, cultural activities and landmarks, especially those so familiar to me in my village of Inalahan.
Dawn Lees Reyes
Dawn Lees Reyes
Dawn obtained an undergraduate degree in Visual Arts at San Francisco State University and accomplished a nine-year self-study in fine arts in Western Europe. Since moving to Guam in 1998, Dawn has had numerous solo exhibits in various spaces, completed commissions for the Guam Educational and Cultural Facility (Guam Museum), the Gloria B. Nelson Public Service Building (Guam public utilities), and the Guam Regional Medical City. She has participated numerous times in the UOG sponsored Creative Hands juried shows. She has also been shown in multiple international locations. Dawn competed for and was awarded two grants and one fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency. These grants partially supported the completion of one of three children’s books based on Chamorro Legends, three paintings depicting some of the history of the Talo’fo’fo area, displayed at the Valley of the Latte Visitor’s Center, and a self-directed study of Abstraction. A grant from Humanities Guahan allowed her to create two web-based lessons- one on Western Abstraction and the other on the Symbols and Images of the Feminine. Dawn has also illustrated the children’s book Mother Tree and Guahan: Return of the Songs. Each of these books focus on the importance of protecting our environment. From 2022 to 2024, Dawn managed the gallery space in Tumon, promoting and launching contemporary local artists. Dawn continues to practice her craft in her studio located in Inarajan.
Rooted Artist Statement:
Although I have only been here for 25 years, my roots here are deep. So deep that I can’t imagine ever living anywhere else. I even have difficulty deciding where to temporarily travel to, as I just love to be home. How great is that? To have a home that is so perfect that you don’t really care to leave? I began developing my roots with Guam when I married into the culture 43 years ago, obtaining a Guam family. Since then I have found meaning in the stories of Guam, have developed deep and lasting friendships and professional relationships, have created a space where I can live my passion, and have had intimate experiences with the natural world that is Guam. The oceans and beaches, jungles and boonies, caves and mountains, creatures underwater and on land.