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Bill supports indigenous art
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Posted on Jul 15 2005
Local artists have won support from the Legislature, with both lawmaking bodies passing a proposed legislation that would make the purchase of indigenous art mandatory for government offices.
Senate Bill 14-92, recently passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, would require each government office to use at least 5 percent of their office furniture and fixture budget to buy indigenous works of art for display in their office.
According to the bill, if a government office failed to use its budget for the purchase of indigenous artwork, an amount equal to the unused funds would be decreased from that agency’s budget for the following year.
Introduced by Sen. Joseph Mendiola, the bill defines indigenous work of art as any artistic product “which depicts the cultural inheritance of the indigenous peoples of the [CNMI] and [is] produced locally.”
For an artwork to qualify as a local product, at least 51 percent of its value must be added within the Northern Marianas.
“The Legislature finds that in order to preserve the indigenous arts for the enjoyment of the public and future generations, it is necessary to support the local Chamorro and Refalawasch artists through the purchase of such local indigenous works of art for display in public buildings,” a portion of the bill read.
The measure also stated that any artwork purchased under the act would become Commonwealth property. However, the creator would retain all copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights to his or her work, unless the artist enter into a contrary arrangement with the purchasing government office. (Agnes E. Donato)
