Hello! My name is Lauren and I will be your Border correspondent today. I have known both Jireh and Via for a really long time and am completely honored to be The Border’s “lil intern.” I’ll be moving to California soon so hopefully you’ll all be seeing a lot more of me. 
I currently live in Guam so I was able to attend this year’s annual Guam Art Exhibit, more widely known as GAX. I have attended a few of the exhibits in the past, and I must agree with the year’s theme that it was indeed “Bigger and Better.” This year’s GAX took up the entire first floor of DNA Evolution as opposed to its former residence of meeting rooms and small clubs or scattered pieces around the building.
Here are a few shots that can be found on Instagram of the exhibit:
(Sources: @competidorbrand, @desbermudes, @francesj, @nikkicarr_, @danica_albert, @ziabc, @mattyvbamba, @mikameeks, @jaseinyoface, and @geebiscuit)
Within this little photo set above are shots from the different corners of GAX, including live art, stencils by Kayla Grover, a piece by Jeff Ejan, the Guam seal made out of cupcakes, and Jireh’s cousin, Gera Datuin! (and her new adorably fat baby)
Speaking of Jireh’s family… I also ran into Gera’s brother, Gino
Gino is standing in front of artworks by Nahono Tsuruga and Leslie Mafnas, enlarged below:
(Is it just me, or does this guy look like Joseph Gordon-Levitt?)
Here are some shots of Gera’s section, which you will enjoy if you, as she says, are “interested in unconventional paintings of nude women with psychedelic colors.”
Multiple artists were working on a large canvas throughout the night, including Ryan Shook of Matala, one of Guam’s most popular and successful local bands.
Ryan was working on drawing one of his good friends and bandmates, Jordan Hardy, who has been mentioned on The Border before! Ryan also had a personal section at GAX next to his dad, Jack Shook. Ryan is a teacher and he even included some of his students’ work!
Jordan was also featured in the exhibit, collaborating with Ashley Chua for Crystal Kids, which promotes “spreading good vibes and natural highs.”
(Source: spreadroots.com)
Visitors took part in signing a “guestbook.”
A few more shots of the exhibit, featuring artists Joshua Agerstrand, Novem Gimoto, and photographers Patrick Camacho, John Padilla, and Patrick Padilla:
^ This was my personal favorite!
More photos of the exhibit can be found on the GAX Official Facebook Page and in a post by one of the featured GAX artists, Nahono Tsuruga.
This year’s GAX was surely the best, and I can’t wait to see it evolve even more in the following years! Guam always has so much remarkable talent, and GAX is the best way to showcase their work to the entire island. Thanks for reading! I hope to be back very soon.
xx, Lauren the Intern
