Manny Crisostomo Retrospective Exhibit and Programs

The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded $30,000 to Humanities Guåhan for a new project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Prizes in 2016 through Pulitzer’s Campfires Initiative. Humanities Guåhan will curate and present an interpretive retrospective exhibition highlighting the career of Guam’s sole Pulitzer Prize winner - multimedia photojournalist Manny Crisostomo. Amid the ubiquitous imagery of modern American media and romanticized island life, Manny has paved the way for progressive and even incongruent approaches that address stereotypes, mix highbrow and lowbrow culture, juxtapose urbanized island life and cultural traditions, expose political scandal and taboo subjects, and promote the discussion of the diverse communities and complex cultures of Guam. The project will also include a series of conversations, public presentations, exhibit tours, and workshops. The interpretive exhibit and programs will feature Manny’s Pulitzer Prize series, as well as other significant and award-winning works that are relevant to the Guam community. They will also focus on the ways in which Chamorros and other Pacific Islanders promote and present themselves in the media, and how Manny’s efforts have influenced their presence in contemporary media – locally, regionally, and nationally.

“The project will epitomize the goals of the Pulitzer Prizes Centennial Campfires Initiative to deepen and inspire the public’s engagement with and understanding of the value of great art and journalism through examining Manny’s exceptional body of work,” said Kimberlee Kihleng, Humanities Guåhan Executive Director.

To prepare for the centennial, the Pulitzer Prize Board announced the Campfires Initiative aiming to ignite broad engagement with the journalistic, literary, and artistic values the Prizes represent. To inspire yearlong programming throughout the country, the Board partnered with the Federation of State Humanities Councils on the Initiative. After a review of grant proposals, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded more than $1.5 million to forty-six state humanities councils. The programs will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning work in journalism, arts and letters, and music.

The initiative is supported by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Pulitzer Prize Board.