Image of Culture | June 4




One of Aljay's biggest dreams was to do an art show.  He's never exhibited his art before and doing an exhibition was a way of making a statement that he is an artist! So when the opportunity came about, we were so excited!!

How We Got the Opportunity 
Aljay decided around January that he was going to do an art exhibit. He was inspired by all the wall space and openness of our house. So naturally (if you know Aljay, then you can totally see him planning this) he had decided that we could use our house to host the exhibit. I was reaaalllyy hesitant about it. But the plan was do do an art show in May. He originally wanted March, but then I reminded him that I was supposed to give birth mid-March so NO! lol

During this time I was working with UVU's Pacific Islander Initiative on a project called the Hidden Voices project. The Hidden Voices project is an art exhibit that would feature high school student produced artwork in the. The 2019 year was supposed to feature Pacific Islander student art (the last one was Native American)...So one of the things the committee definitely needs are artists (preferably Pacific Islanders) to mentor the high school participants.

However, as a recruiter I knew we wouldn't have enough time to get parent/student/administrative buy in. We also didn't have even a lists of local Pacific Islander artists who could be mentors. During our last meeting as a committee, we deliberated and decided that it would be best to move the exhibit to 2021.

After the meeting I was sitting around talking story with Dara and Aunty One and I mentioned Aljay's artshow. We were talking about our husbands and I was saying how he wanted to do the show art our house and all that and how I was like ummmm how about not lol....That's when Dara said "why don't you have it here! You can use the whole space...we can help sponsor the event. We have allocated funding that was supposed to be used for this project...but since it's being moved to 2021 we can use some of the funding to leverage artists" OMG Yessss!!!

I told Aljay as soon as I got home and he was in! We set the date for June 4th because I knew it would take time to send the proposal to Dara and then have that sent up the ranks for approval.

This sponsorship was huge blessing!! It was exactly what we needed!

ANYWAYS...that's how we were able to have his art exhibit at UVU in the Multicultural Student Services area.

 What this Opportunity Meant
Like I mentioned above...this was huge for Aljay and for our family. We have always been on a tight budget and didn't have extra funds to pour into Aljay's art supplies and materials. The sponsorship completely removed that barrier. It was so nice for him to be able to go to the shops and get exactly what he needed whenever he needed it. It was so liberating for him.

Then for the night of the reception, the food and drummers were all covered by MSS- Pacific Island Initiave's budget.

It was a huge blessing.

Aljay has done Poly tattoo, graphic art, tshirt design, tatau artwork.....but has never done anything that sets himself apart as a fine arts type of artist. So this really meant a lot to him. Definitely a springboard for his career as an artist.


 June 4 | Opening Reception
The reception was awesome!

Everything ran so smoothly. Aliitasi (Matt & Agnes) were there with the drummers. They played a few sets throughout the night. The food was there and set up on time.

About 100 people came through. 90% were friends and family.

We started the reception with Aljay talking, Leone saying a few words, and then a few words from Unce Gaugau....and then everyone was free to walk through and grab some food.



The feedback was incredible for Aljay to hear. It's one thing when your spouse (aka me) says you're artwork looks good....it's even more meaningful when your friends, family, and strangers give positive feedback.




19 pieces were featured, 20 including Austyn's featured piece. From the show 3 were sold and 2 more are probably going to get snatched up.

It was a success and a huge sigh of relief for Aljay lol...cause he was not as cool as a cucumber just before the event..

Oh my goodness. So yes he was rockstar throughout the process up until a few days before the reception. Then he started getting sooooo nervous. Started self-doubting. Not sure if he had enough pieces or if he was showcasing enough of his skills. He was overthinking and sleep deprived....having mental blocks lol

Even the day before he was still nervous...but we had some heaven sent angels to get us through.  Leone and her kids were there the night before to set up and were soooo helpful in getting all the pieces set up and the chairs situated. They were also there afterwards to clean up and help put the chairs back after the event. Liz and Toli were lifesavers too. They took the three older kids and didn't bring them back until the reception. #blessed

And you already know I was feeling some stress since I had my list of things that I had to let go of because we didn't have time to get it all done...like printed cards for each art piece (name, description, dimensions, explanations, etc),  or a website, or art copies (prints), or a more thought out "program"...but Leone was there to tell me to "wooosaahhh and not sass my husband" hahahahhah Bless her heart. I needed to hear that right at that moment.

At the end of the day, it was a success! And I'm so proud of Aljays hard work, determination, vision, and talent. #proudwifestatus


So what's next?
Well... a lot hahha

Oh my life...so much to do.

On Aljay's end--

  • keep painting
  • work on website
  • create his "brand"...so we're going to call it ManusinaArt
  • sign us up as a LLC under my name (cause being a female and minority does have perks in the business world)
On my end--
  • handle the inquiries, art selling, contracts (if any) and such
    (p.s. you can email us at ManusinaArt@gmail.com for any questions)
  • keep a calendar for events/shows
  • you know....secretary duties lol

I also want to start a blog that will be linked to his website, but will give more backstory on some of his pieces, the painting process, and all that fun stuff (i really don't have a clear direction on this...but we'll figure this out lol)

Until that blog gets up and running....I'll do another post on here about the art pieces that were sold.



And now pics that I stole from everyone's Facebook posts. I'll update and put more photos in the real album as I gather them from the memory card and all that...
Preparing for the show
 Reception & Exhibit
























Special Guest Artist Feature

Austin Tafiti Kelley

Acrylic on Canvas






And I'm done lol

What a great learning experience and opportunity this has been. Onwards we go to more opportunities for growth and improvement. 















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