KIRAN DATWANI
The Journal’s intern explored the 13th Jambo Arts Exhibition inside the Lomalo Room (MIR) Saturday:
Jambo Arts has been a part of the Marshallese community as well as other nationalities for quite some time. It started back in 2010 at the RRE huts, but over the years it has changed its location from the artsy huts to the open spaced Jitak and now to a sophisticated room in the Marshall Islands Resort.
This time, there weren’t just art pieces, but also a photography section and live entertainment by Majuro’s finest band. There weren’t competitions like they have had in past years, but they did have a photography competition and a 50/50 raffle draw. Although smaller in size, one of the major features that made this exhibition unique was the warm, cozy, relaxed feel of it.
The current president Jambo Arts, Angela Saunders, explains her thoughts on the event: “I have done 8 or 9 exhibitions, and this one turned out just as we were hoping. It has a nice, different feel, and I just love the atmosphere in general. If I were to describe this event in two words, it would be “night out”.
Near the end of the exhibition, Jack Niedenthal showed his new upcoming short movie, ‘Marshallese Be Like’. Jack had numerous thoughts about the exhibition too. “I have joined every year since 2013 when I showed my first short film, ‘Zori’. I consider myself an artist, and like almost all other artists in Majuro, being an artist is not my full-time job,” Jack explains. “To me, art is a way to get away from life, as well as give me a platform to do what I love. I am sure that is the same for many other artists too,” he explains. “There is literally nothing more exciting than showing my movie to all these people gathered here together. And simply, that is why I continue to do what I do.”
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