These all-sensory community gatherings began by bringing to life old stories of Kou or what is now known as Honoluluʻs Chinatown neighborhood through photography depicting ancient Hawaiian goddesses, songs of place, and food from the land and sea. An Opening held on September 1st, 2023 at Arts & Letters led by artist Kaʻōhua Lucas marked the start of multiple artist-led community collaborations taking place through July 27th, 2024, and culminating in a return to Thomas Square, the site of the restoration of Hawaiʻiʻs sovereignty so many years ago. This day will celebrate community-created works while also sharing a space of creation in-real-time through mediums highlighting materials of place including pandanus weaving, bamboo stamping, multimedia, and various other practices that have remained despite it all. We celebrate our very existence and welcome all with a deep and undying love for Hawai’i, continuing the work of many generations before us and ushering in many more to come.

The work of Hōʻeu Mana is done as part of the national initiative One Nation/One Project’s Arts For EveryBody, designed to show how the arts can lead to healthier people and communities. Pu’uhonua Society is one of 18 Arts For EverBody sites across the country responding to the prompt “No Place Like Home,” through art projects that seek to reflect the unique voice of our community, and through participating, improve the overall health of the community.

Hō‘eu Mana Zine

Created by a group of wāhine practitioners dedicated to awakening the mana of wahi pana and ancestral voices through art and mo‘olelo, the Hō‘eu Mana Zine features stories and images to inspire and activate the mana in all us, our families, our Lāhui, and this precious ‘āina.

Click on the image to the left to download a PDF copy of the Hō‘eu Mana Zine.

Hōʻeu Mana is presented in partnership with One Nation / One Project.