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Irma Ramos Arreaga
Outreach & Inclusion Librarian
KEL 3306
(760) 750-8217
By appointment
Wayfinding Community-Campus Vā
Wayfinding Community-Campus Vā is a mixed media collection curated by U-ACT (Unifying APIDA Communities Together) that imagines how an “oceanic orientation” promotes cultural education, sustains community relationships and engagements, and advances social justice. With a basis in the ancient foundation of Austronesian language families, Vā is ‘connecting space’ that link islands and ocean together as an interconnected worldview. Indeed, never separated or open-ended; always connected and nurtured together through tautua, ʻservice’.
Since 2023, campus partnerships with two local grassroots organizations/programs based in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities have expanded how to tautua the vā through thoughtful service in the region.
The collection includes traditional wooden instruments, a double-hulled canoe, community-created murals, linguistic maps, and a series of language and cultural workshop videos. Interactive panels, historical timelines, and lei-making activities further contextualize the meaningful development of the community-campus vā over time.
Most importantly, the collection highlights the ‘āiga ‘inclusive family’ of relatives, neighbors, community members, and campus friends that thrives with greater resources to tautua the vā for the entire region, and especially those who may need the most care.
This exhibition invites viewers to experience the community-campus vā in an “oceanic orientation” led by grassroots collaborations with local NHPI communities in North County San Diego.
Visit the exhibition from January 20th to July 31st, 2026, in the library's third-floor exhibit space.
For more information:
Muāgututiʻa, G., Suarez, T., & Lee, M. (2026). Empowering and sustaining vā sā in community-campus partnerships: A neighborhood study of Sāmoan community in Oceanside, CA. In Vincent, C. & Moore, S. (Eds.) Equitable community engagement with colleges and universities: Exploring equity in community-campus relationships. Routledge.