a year. Once in the summer and at Christmas time.
There are several islands and everyone gathers from the
different regions and brings special dishes. Filipinos in the
U.S. continue the tradition to stay connected and keep
the community alive. This past Christmas, more than
two hundred met in the Callaway Center at Partin Park. I
always look for three or four dishes I know will be there.
It’s like holiday feast food. Oh, I can almost taste the
kare-kare!” He closed his eyes imagining the taste of the
Filipino food.
For his next project, Dominique presented a major
large-format color photography print exhibition at the
historic Altama Museum of Art & History in downtown
Vidalia with the supervision of its Executive Director,
Jennifer Martinez. “With the help of some of the members
of the Filipino community, we identified 25 Filipina
women from the Magnolia Midland area whom we felt
deserved to be acknowledged and given prominence for
their contributions. There could have been more, but
only 25 could be accommodated for the exhibit.”
The exhibit was called “Filipina: Beacon of Light” and
was on display from February 17 through March 31, 2018.
The formal portrait photography exhibition featured
Filipina women from all walks of life. Two were doctors in
our area: Dr. Frances Acosta and Dominique’s aunt, Dr.
Melania Domingo. Magistrate Judge Rizza O’Connor, and
Dominique’s mother, Linda Guevarra, were also among
those photographed. Other Filipina women featured in
the exhibition included Beth Bridges, Carmela Lopez,
Christina Matias Johnson, Cita Alba Anderson, Daisy
Lupo, Demie Aseron, Emely Lumayno Smith, Evelyn
Dacalos Gay, Felicitas F. Rimando, Haydee Moxley, Jessie
Nail, Jocylin JoAnn Mariano Jett, Liberty Saburnido
Lumayno, Michelle Matias Phillips, Minerva Cabrera
Poblete, Nerry Fernando, Nilda Murillo Colson, Paola
Rimando Domingo, Rosita Matias Johnson, Ruth Marron
Rimando, and Yollie Cabaysa.
“In this exhibition, I wanted to show the many
fascinating facets of the Filipina women,” said Dominique.
“A common thread they shared was that each had faced
personal challenges in the pursuit of better life, not only
for themselves but also for their families and others
through their formal work and community work.”
Dominique collaborated with sisters Maddie and Riley
Adams of J. Leigh Salon and Maddie X Hair, and also with
sisters Taylor and Serena Hayden to do hair and make
up of studio pictorials of the Filipina women. “I was very
lucky to find these incredibly young and talented hair and
make up professionals. I’ve worked with so many hair and
make up artists from all over the world, and they were
every bit as good as anyone I’ve ever worked with. They
delivered!”
Although Dominique cannot say for certain what his
future may hold, there is no doubt it will involve two
things: family and photography and in that order. He is
available for personal or commercial photography work,
and his portfolio of work can be viewed online at www.
dominiquejames.com. TCM
20 Toombs County Magazine
OPPOSITE PAGE
Dominique's most recent
exhibit, "Filipina: Beacon
of Light," was held at the
Altama Museum of Art
and History in Vidalia. It
contained portraits of 25
Filipina women living in
our area and celebrated
the different facets of their
lives.
/dominiquejames.com