WYLAND CREATES COMMEMORATIVE MURAL IN AMERICAN SAMOA
American Samoa will host the 10th Pacific Arts Festival from July 20th to August 2nd, 2008. It will be the largest event hosted by the Territory. Approximately 2000 representatives from over 21 Pacific countries and territories are expected. The Territory has been busy preparing for the festival. There have been various public awareness and public education presentations through the media. Every week, there is a full page ad in the Samoa News highlighting one of the Pacific countries. In March, the Governor issued a memorandum announcing Fridays as clean up days for all American Samoa Government offices.
It is also hoped that the Wyland Mural project will help bring more awareness to the value and importance of coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific and in special commemoration of the 2008 Year of the Reef. Wyland and a crew of five arrived on island on April 6. With assistance from students of the American Samoa Community College and Governor Togiola, the group completed the mural on Friday, April 11th.
For more read this Press Release. For more read this Samoa
News Article. For more information on the 10th Festival of the Pacific Arts to be hosted in American Samoa, July 20-August 2, 2008, visit the official website: (http://pacartsas.com/index.htm) For more information on the 2008 Year of the Reef (IYOR) visit the IYOR Website. (http://www.iyor.org/) For more information on U.S. Coral Reef Initiatives visit the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Website: (http://www.coralreef.gov/) |
OIA
Field Office in American Samoa (April 15, 2008) - Robert Wyland
was commissioned by the American Samoa Government to create a mural on the
north wall of the Executive Office Building to commemorate the 2008 Year
of the Reef and the 10th Festival of the Pacific Arts which will be hosted
by the people of American Samoa this year from July 20th to August 2nd.
The Festival is estimated to cost approximately $3.5 million. Several local and off island businesses have made substantial monetary contributions to the Festival. OIA provided a technical assistance grant for $339,000.
The current Wyland masterpiece in America Samoa brings the tally of Wyland
Whaling Walls to three in the Insular Areas. There are two others, one in Palau
and the other on Guam: Wyland 90th Whaling Wall, Palau’s Blue Corner,
Palau International Airport and Etpison Museum, Republic of Palau, February
2003. Wyland 91st Whaling Wall, Guam’s Ocean Life, Guam International
Airport, Hagatna, Guam, February 2004. 