​We are not in the middle, we are in the center.

Ti man chenglung hit gi enta'lu; era man gaigi hit gi ta'lu'

Sise tube me lepat; si lo lughulap.​

Chamorro Translation

Refaluwasch Translation

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Where do we fit into this contemporary narrative? 

The Mariana Islands are often framed in media and history books as being "stuck in the middle" between competing national powers. This framing is not new and stems from militarized discourses popularized during World War II when our islands were viewed as stuck in the "crossfire" between the United States and Japan. Today, this framing continues to place us between two competing powers: the United States and China. Current debates over "which side" each island nation in the Pacific takes tend to fan the flames of this narrative. These portrayals pay little attention to the stakes of what these decisions mean for Indigenous livelihoods, sovereignty and political decision-making throughout Oceania. They neglect the lived realities of the people who call the Marianas home. What does it feel like to be connected to the land that is so often viewed as "stuck in the middle" when that middle is the center of your life? ​

Colonial labels applied to the Marianas over the years
​

Stepping Stones

Dots in the Pacific

Unsinkable aircraft carrier

Tip of the Spear

​Pacific Pivot

Gateway to the Orient

Springboard to the Pacific

Where America's Day Begins

Strategic Transit Points 

​Controlled environments 

Rehearsal area 

​Theatres of war 

​

​Controlled environments 

Rehearsal area 
 
Fulcrum of Realignment

Front porch in the Pacific 

Springboards 

Barriers

Second Island Chain

Pacific Basin

​Pacific Theatre 

​Backwaters
​
​Closest U.S. soil to Asia

Strategic 

The title of this website draws its inspiration from Lanny Thompson's (2010) book entitled "Imperial Archipelago: Representation and Rule in the Insular Territories Under U.S. Dominion After 1898" which explores a comparative approach to the U.S.'s conquest of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawai'i, the Philippines and Guam by focusing on textual and photographic representations. In this website, we explore resistance to the imperial framing of the Marianas archipelago by highlighting contemporary art forms that express the everyday and affective dimensions of contemporary colonialism.