Gi Matan Guma’ calls creatives to apply for paid, weeklong artist residency

In this year's MALI’E’ Co-Laboratory, participants will examine ways to relate to the energy of the lunar month of Umayånggan, a period defined by short, frequent rains and the tendency to feel unsettled or weepy. Artists will reflect on how their creative and cultural practices address their grief so that they can move with awareness towards renewal and abundance.  Photo courtesy of Gi Matan Guma’ and Elijah Velasco-Dominguez

(Gi Matan Guma’)--Cultural practitioners and creatives from all disciplines are invited to apply for a paid, weeklong artist residency with Gi Matan Guma’.

Led by the organization’s original MALI’E’ cohort, participants will explore ancestral spirituality through tending to sacred sites, movement, chant and material cultural practices from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4. 

MALI’E’ is Gi Matan Guma’s primary creative research project and draws its name from the CHamoru call-and-response art form that is more commonly known as Kantan CHamurita. Meaning “what has been seen,” the practice of mali’e’ has been traditionally used as a way to record life events, history and improve relationships between community members. 

In this year's MALI’E’ Co-Laboratory, participants will examine ways to relate to the energy of the lunar month of Umayånggan, a period defined by short, frequent rains and the tendency to feel unsettled or weepy. Artists will reflect on how their creative and cultural practices address their grief so that they can move with awareness towards renewal, joy and abundance. 

“As we hold the weight of another year passing, this residency offers us a chance to connect to each other and the healing within our land,” said Dakota Camacho, Gi Matan Guma’ member and organizer of the MALI’E’ Co-Laboratory.

“This season teaches us how to let grief move through us—to embrace the rain, the tears, the flow of water that can come in torrents, yet nourishes growth within the jungle and ourselves. The earth teaches us so much about the sacred strength of vulnerability.” 

The week of multi-disciplinary workshops will culminate in a collaborative community ritual activation at Sagan Kotturan Chamoru on Jan. 3, 2026. Upon completion of the program, participants will receive a $800 chenchule’. 

Interested applicants can apply online by  Dec. 19, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ChST. Applicants will be notified about the status of their application by Dec. 22, 2025. 

Founded in 2020 by artists Jeremy Cepeda and Dakota Camacho, Gi Matan Guma’ is a collective of CHamoru artists and cultural practitioners who are dedicated to restoring ancestral knowledge systems to support self-determination, collective healing, creativity and collective healing through cultural ceremony, language education, art, and creative research.

Gi Matan Guma’, which means “front of the house,” is a space in which knowledge sharing, collaboration and connection take place.

Subscribe to

our monthly

digital edition