Vince Reyes, master of CHamoru dance and director of Inetnon Gef På’go, said he’s “tremendously grateful” after the Guam performing arts program was announced as one of 11 nationwide finalists for the Lewis Prize for Music’s fifth annual Accelerator Awards.

The philanthropic music arts organization each year recognizes a number of outstanding creative youth development groups across the U.S. and offers prizes ranging from the $50,000 Catalyst Awards to the $500,000 Accelerator Awards.

“I think we’re the first from Guam to ever become a finalist, and so I’m just so grateful that our island has been able to reach this level, especially in music,” Reyes said.

“It’s really a demonstration of the quality of programming and the effectiveness of music when it comes to perpetuating our culture. I’m really tremendously grateful for this opportunity.”

Daniel Lewis, founder of the Lewis Prize for Music (www.TheLewisPrize.org.), stated the 11 Accelerator Awards finalists “have smart, articulate, passionate leaders that collaborate with their teams and local leaders to provide adolescents most negatively impacted by inequities with all they need to have productive, exciting and rewarding lives.”

The announcement described Inetnon Gef På’go as an award-winning program whose aim is to promote awareness and pride in CHamoru heritage through performance arts, with the group representing Guam at major on-island events as well as folk festivals around the world.

The winners of the Lewis Prize for Music’s 2024 Accelerator Awards will be announced Jan. 9, 2024.

‘Perpetuating and promoting our culture’

Reyes said the group prides itself “in always striving for artistic excellence and providing safe and positive platforms for our members to express themselves and our culture.”

If they were to be named among the $500,000 Accelerator Award winners in January, Reyes said Inetnon Gef På’go would use the prize money to expand its programming “to provide more opportunities for our youth to express themselves and express our CHamoru identity and our re-indigeneity of Guam through the arts.”

Fostering individual and cultural pride is a cornerstone of the group’s mission, Reyes added.

“Our efforts in perpetuating and promoting our culture is something we take very seriously, and something we believe can be an inspiration for others,” he said. “And by doing that, we elevate our community and inspire our young kids to continue to believe in our culture and our island and our identity, and how we can express that through the arts.”

Finalists

The finalists for the Lewis Prize for Music’s 2024 Accelerator Awards are:

• Inetnon Gef På’go Cultural Arts Program Inc. (Guam)
• Community Music Center of Boston (Boston, MA)
• Neutral Zone (Ann Arbor, MI)
• HEAL Center for the Arts (St. Louis, MO)
• Healthy Hood Chicago (Chicago, IL)
• BUMP: The Triangle (Durham, NC)
• Brandon house Cultural & Performing Arts program (Little Rock, AR)
• White Hall Arts Academy (Los Angeles, CA)
• Juneau Alaska Music Matters (Juneau, AK)
• The Bridge Music Project (Olympia, WA)
• The Roots of Music (New Orleans, LA)