Wonenberg to represent NMI in China sculpture symposium

Barry Wonenburg, art instructor at the Northern Marianas College, has been invited to the represent the CNMI in the 9th International Sculpture Symposium in China, which will run from July 26 to Sept. 5.

Wonenburg has been selected as one of the 31 sculptors worldwide who will take part in the prestigious symposium and his sculpture will be put on display at the Changchun World Sculpture Park in Changchun, China, considered the largest sculpture park in the world.

“I am happy to be given this opportunity. It is gratifying to have my abilities recognized,” Wonenberg said in an e-mail to the Saipan Tribune.

Artists from around the world were invited to submit sculpture proposals representing the national and local cultures of their countries. After an extensive review process, 31 sculptors were selected and one of that was Wonenberg, who had submitted three sculpture proposals.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for me and for the CNMI islands as a whole,” he said. “I am honored to have been selected to represent our islands and create one of my sculptures for the symposium.”

Wonenberg will be flying to China toward the end of July to begin sculpting one of his three proposed designs.

One proposal, called “Totem-Standing Together,” is a stainless steel piece that will stand nearly 10 feet high. The other two proposals, called “Leaping Fish at Play” and “Jumping Fish at Play,” will be cut in granite and will stand approximately six feet high and over nine feet long.

Wonenberg said that, although the type of stone may change, “nothing is set in stone until it is.”

“When I received [the] offer to submit three sculpture proposals to the…committee, I took the opportunity because as an artist, I enjoy creating beautiful pieces. Besides, sculpture is my specialty and this was a chance to indulge my creative vision,” he said.

Wonenberg will receive an all-expense-paid trip that includes a round-trip ticket to China, a $2,000 honorarium, hotel accommodations, meals, sightseeing tours and other activities. During his stay there, assistants will be assigned to him to help him build his sculptures as well as provision for all the materials necessary for his work.

The Changchun World Sculpture Park in Changchun, China, currently displays 391 sculptures that were created by 347 sculptors from 172 countries. The sculptures, located within the 92 hectare park, represent different artistic styles from around the world.

The event promotes international cultural exchanges for the aesthetic improvement of the city’s urban setting, Changchun City, the capital of Jilin Province of China.

This year the symposium has invited artists from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Georgia, Sikkim, East Timor, Holy See, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Guinea, Chad, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Libya, Djibouti, Liberia, Gambia, Somalia, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Nauru, Guam, Tuvalu, Marshall Island, Cayman Island, Ghana, Reunion, Canary Island, and the CNMI.