About Silent Voice Amplifier
Our Vision
We perpetuate the legacy of David "Mataga'" Lujan Sablan by:
- promoting the education and preservation of the Chamoru culture;
- teaching people of the power of their personal message;
- providing empowering information on how to leverage resources for opportunities of growth;
- and amplifying the distant and almost silent voices of our island home
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower our Native Voice by offering a platform to market their efforts to preserve our Native Heritage and publishing services to get their messages heard. We believe that everyone has a story to tell, and we are committed to supporting and amplifying Native Voices.
Our Background
Mataga' Inc.
David Lujan Sablan wrote "The Book of My Life" after having become the only artist with three entries selected to decorate the newly built Guam International Airport.
He quickly became a renowned cultural artist pioneering the depiction of our ancestral CHamoru customs and traditions significantly contributing to the preservation of a culture so pure in Love. His wife, Lydia, would support his work by marketing printed copies of his oil-paint-on-canvas artwork, with matted, shrink-wrapped framing.
His love for our Native ancestry led him to voice his thoughts on Native Rights concerns in today's community, which led to his activism for the return of Native Lands and, through co-founding the Nation CHamoru and protesting for the implementation of the "CHamoru Land Trust Act", he inspired preservation of our Native Rights to our Land - taking on the name "Mataga'," which means "to hack at one another like in a sword fight."
Prior to passing away, he collected a selection of works to that could be sold as a binded book to allow buyers the opportunity to unbind and frame as they chose how to display it. This crowning production of his life consists of:
- a photo of the cover of his book (a self-portrait sketch) with a photo from within it (he and his wife posing with his entries to the Guam International Airport selection contest - he was the only artist to have three entries selected)
- 28 prints - his selected work, which reveals his skill at telling our ancestors' stories through the strokes of a brush on a canvas surface with oil-paint as his ink (including his recent Regional Blue Ribbon Award winner)
- a photo of a piece of his work used for commercial purposes - the beginning of his expansion of service from consumers to businesses
- and a bonus copy of his work on duplicating the details of a Benjamin Franklin bill to scale.
With the production of this crowing work of his life, "Mataga', Inc." was born. Prior to his passing, he began talks about an hosting an art exhibit... after his passing, his children began taking steps to fulfill this plan, but due to the unfortunate events of Typhoon Marwar, the exhibit was cancelled and this art gallery was born.