UOG alum received Michelle Angela Ortiz Fellowship at Da Vinci Art Alliance

Neill Frianeza Catangay is a talented artist who was born and raised on Guam. Currently an artist's assistant in Philadelphia, the University of Guam alum took time out of his holiday visit to not only do a UOG lecture but also stop by the studio.

For 30-year-old Neil Catangay he said growing up, he would ask his dad to draw various cartoons or objects. Although his dad wasn't an artist, it was that simple gesture of sketches and line drawings that would prompt catangay to want to learn more about art.

“As I started to go through elementary, middle, and high school I was just really into art. I was just drawing all the time. I was always fascinated by art,” Catangay shared.

Once he graduated from Father Duenas Memorial School in 2011, Neill enrolled at the University of Guam, initially as a med student but after realizing his passion was not there, he sought elsewhere, specifically Art courses at UOG.

Catangay said, “I fell in love with it. I learned so much. Ric Castro was my first art professor and I learned so much. I was like, you know what? This is what I actually want to do. I've been doing this for a long time and I feel there is a lot to learn about it. What does this look like as a career? So I started to take those classes and my parents saw the initial difference. The program is fantastic, and it really supercharged my passion for the visual arts and everything that surrounded it. It supercharges me so much, I didn't clock in and clock out as a student, when I went home, I did more research and I practiced even more.” 

After UOG, he continued his artistic and personal growth journey, receiving his MFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 

It's here where Catangay's work started to shift from the use of paint to 3D, sculptures, and even video. There was also a shift in themes and concepts moving from fantasy and escapism to self-identity and the real world. 

“Ethnicity wise, I'm filipino. But I was born on Guam, so I'm considered Guamanian. Being born here, we're automatically American-citizens. That was coming out in my work. Just from the nature of experimenting- colors started to change, bold colors, straight colors out of the tube, I started leaving things be, I would make gestures and moves in my work that I never thought I would have done,” He explained. 

Over the years he has had his artwork featured in many shows both locally to include the Guam exhibit and the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency to exhibits in Pennsylvania and even New Jersey. 

Most recently, he was awarded the 2023 Michelle Angela Ortiz Fellowship and was given the opportunity to curate a show that included his work. It is his favorite piece of work to date.

Catangay said, “ It really encompasses my journey so far as an artist and mainly my thinking process for each project.”

As he continues his artistic journey, what inspires his work now? 

He said, “Being away from home, you have a greater appreciation for home, you also want to research different histories about Guam. I really dove into that. Really, what's inspired me now for  a lot of my artwork, history of Guam, history of the Philippines, our relationship with the United States, a lot of these things that revolve around Guam that I grew up with that I never really took into consideration...until now.”

Catangay also shared some words of inspiration for aspiring artists and other creatives, “You have to be passionate, you have to look for your opportunity. You have to keep on practicing your craft, your artwork, whatever. Most likely you'll have to get a job and most times it won't be art related. That's okay. But you need to keep your passion alive. And by doing your practice, researching, surrounding yourself with like-minded people helps a lot because sometimes you think I'm all alone. No one understands me, I'm the struggling artist, but no there's a lot of people out there.”

And finally, he added, “Don’t dilly dally. If you really want to go for it, go for it. 110%. You have to.”