Affirmation of creative resistance by Kanaka ʻŌiwi artists
‘Ai Pōhaku, Stone Eaters affirms our long-standing acts of creative resistance and persistence. Emerging collaboratively, this multi-site exhibition is guided by ongoing conversations with family, friends, mentors, and colleagues—all of whom have contributed to a larger movement toward self-determination within the arts of Hawai‘i. ‘Ai Pōhaku, Stone Eaters gathers new commissions, works in progress, and existing artworks by an intergenerational group of poets, painters, carvers, weavers, filmmakers, photographers, and musicians to help tell a story of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi contemporary art that began during the archipelago-wide cultural reawakening of the 1970s and continues to unfold.
Despite the abundance of our artistic expressions, it has been more than twenty years since a large-scale exhibition of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi art was presented within the University of Hawai‘i (UH) System. Aware of its context, ‘Ai Pōhaku, Stone Eaters addresses the exclusion of Kānaka worldviews from academia, specifically within the UH Mānoa Department of Art and Art History, and an overall lack of institutional support for Kānaka art across the Islands. Beyond the present educational environment, systemic racism and anti-Hawaiian stances underlie many of the inequities and associated challenges that we face daily. By advocating for Kānaka artists and culture bearers, this exhibition offers audiences an opportunity to form meaningful connections to our diverse work while ensuring that our stories of art are sustained in our ancestral homelands and abroad.
We are grateful to do this collaborative work and are indebted to the artists, curators, and educators who have struggled to carve paths for us to follow. May we continue to share stories of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi creative resistance, persistence, and the inevitability of our nationhood.
Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick
Josh Tengan
Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu
Curators
Mānoa, Kona, O‘ahu
Makali‘i 2022
DATES
January 22 – March 26, 2023
February 19 – August 13, 2023
March 5 – April 2, 2023
March 31 – May 5, 2023
April 29 – August 25, 2023
April 30 – August 13, 2023
EXHIBITIONS
The Art Gallery, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Koa Gallery, Kapiʻolani Community College
Commons Gallery, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Gallery ʻIolani, Windward Community College
Hōʻikeākea, Leeward Community College
East-West Center Gallery
ARTIST LIST
Nālamakūikapō Ahsing
Bernice Akamine
Maile Andrade
Pam Barton
Meala Bishop
Sean Kekamakupaʻaikapono– Kaʻonohiokalani Lee Loy Browne
Kahi Ching
Kaili Chun
Kauʻi Chun
Herman Piʻikea Clark
Kauka de Silva
April Drexel
Joy Lehuanani Enomoto
Solomon Robert Nui Enos
Bob Freitas
Noah Harders
Roen Hufford
Puni Jackson
Rocky KaʻiouliokahihikoloʻEhu Jensen
ʻĪmaikalani Kalāhele
Kamaʻāina Kidz
Kapulani Landgraf
Al Kahekiliuila Lagunero
Leimomi Lani
Lehuauakea
Nanea Lum
Marques Hanalei Marzan
Charlton Kūpaʻa Hee
Micah McDermott
Meleanna Aluli Meyer
Ipō and Kūnani Nihipali
Harinani Orme
Carl F.K. Pao
Tiare Ribeaux
Abigail Romanchak
Charlie Sinclair
Keith Tallett
Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum
Maikaʻi Tubbs
Kunane Wooton
NOW HIRING
Kanaka Maoli
Native Hawaiian Visual Art
FULL-TIME TENURED POSITION
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is accepting applications for a full-time, tenure track position in Kanaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian Visual Art to begin Fall 2024, pending position clearance and availability of funds. This position will develop and teach Kanaka Maoli Visual Art as well as courses in one or more areas of the department’s art studio program. We are especially interested in applicants who maintain an active studio practice, are immersed in an expansive definition of Kanaka Maoli Visual Art, and who support the transmission, transformation, and expression of Native Hawaiian knowledge in its various forms.The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is a Carnegie I research university and the flagship institution of the ten-campus University of Hawai‘i system. Learn more about the university and department at hawaii.edu/art/.
Review of applications will begin Dec. 15, 2023 until the position is filled. To read the full position description and apply, please follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/4bt38axr. Please get in touch with Jaimey Faris at jaimeyh@hawaii.edu if you have questions about our program, the position, or the application process. Feel free to forward this email to your networks or post on social media. Mahalo nui loa for your interest and/or sharing our search widely.
PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
GALLERY GUIDES
EAST-WEST CENTER GALLERY | East-West Center
HŌʻIKEĀKEA GALLERY | Leeward Community College
HŌʻIKEĀKEA GALLERY [extended] | Leeward Community College
GALLERY ʻIOLANI | Windward Community College
KOA GALLERY | Kapiolani Community College
THE ART GALLERY | University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
MAHALO NUI TO PARTNERS
ʻAi Pōhaku, Stone Eaters is made possible with generous funding provided by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, Independent Curators International, and the UH Mānoa Art Department Admiral Grant, and Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). With additional support from the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and Hamasaki Construction.