2025 Grant Awardees

Puʻuhonua Society’s granting program, Hoʻākea Source, in partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program and with additional support from the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, announces the second group of awardees receiving funds from $4,000 to $10,000. Grantees will have one year to bring to life a range of projects centered around ʻāina (that which feeds), pilina (relationality), and huli (change).

Projects celebrate the diverse practices of artists of Hawaiʻi and take many forms, including experimental publications; archiving projects centered on Hawaiian cultural practices, local culture, and māhū joy; a multimedia performance; a mobile artist-in-residence program; a contemporary dance film; community-based projects rooted in cultural practice; an artist collective; a service learning trip; a thematic group exhibition; and an archival film screening.

Review Criteria

All proposals will be considered based on the following criteria. Proposed Research and Projects should speak directly to one or more of the following three strategic priorities:

• ʻĀina (That which feeds): Proposals that are rooted in place; proposals that center love and/or stewardship of land, sky, and sea.

• Pilina (Relationality): Proposals that build meaningful relationships; proposals that weave past, present and future together through emerging and/or sustained commitment to groups, collaborations, and/or collectives.

• Huli (Change): Proposals that affirm a (k)new way of being; proposals that advance more just futures and/or contribute to systemic transformation.

Applications will be reviewed on overall concept and feasibility, with an emphasis on experimentation and risk taking; unconventional viewpoints are encouraged. Applicants should describe their relationship to Hawai‘i and how their work as a visual artist demonstrates a commitment to this place. Responses should speak to how long they have been an active participant in the local arts ecosystem and in what ways their work serves Hawaiʻi.

A successful application will: 

• Speak directly to what the proposal is, who it involves, and which of the three strategic priorities it most closely aligns with and why

• Situate an artistic practice within a larger visual arts genealogy of Hawaiʻi 

• Demonstrate a capacity to realize the project on time and within budget 

• Explain how the public would engage with the project with an emphasis on non-conventional exhibition spaces

• Describe the potential impact on a local community and the larger arts and culture landscape of Hawaiʻi

2025 Grantee Selection Panel

A trio of review panelists convened to discuss applications and select this year's awardees from 31 total applicants. Brief bios and remarks from the panelists can be found below.

Mina Elison is a Kanaka ‘Ōiwi curator who was born and raised in Kailua on the island of O‘ahu. With generational ties to South Kona on Hawai‘i, Mina currently serves as Curator at the Donkey Mill Art Center in Kona, Hawai‘i, where she curates exhibitions and programming featuring local and international artists working in diverse media from kapa to film. She sees the gallery as a classroom, laboratory, and gathering space which inspires exploration, reflection, and healing; art can be a catalyst for meaningful and challenging dialogue. Mina aims to develop collaborative exhibitions which amplify stories and perspectives of those whose voices have been marginalized, suppressed and misrepresented.

“A warm mahalo to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program and the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawai’i Community Foundation for their support of this incredible program… As threats to our ability to express ourselves freely mount, support from these partnerships are more than symbolic acts of solidarity, but rather a vitally important catalyzing tool enabling artists to use their stories and perspectives to help us all re-envision our worlds and build more pono and equitable futures.”

Kristan Kennedy is a Portland-based artist, curator, and educator. Kennedy is the Artistic Director and Curator of Visual Art at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA). For the last decade, Kennedy has focused on commissioning new work by international emerging artists in the form of large-scale, site-specific installations and solo projects that exist at the borders of genres. Kennedy takes an expansive view of visual art and also organizes music, performance art, publications, social engagement and new media projects as part of PICA’s year-round programming and for the organization’s annual Time-Based Art Festival. Kennedy serves on the board of the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts and teaches Contemporary Art and Critical Thinking at the Pacific Northwest College of Art as part of their MFA in Visual Studies department.

“...I was struck by the deep generosity and meaningful exchange that occurred when considering each of the applicants' work. I am grateful to everyone at Puʻuhonua Society, to my fellow panelists, and to the artists for their extraordinarily thoughtful process which values community over competition and a deep connectedness to place.”

Marques Hanalei Marzan is a Hawaiian and Oceanic fibers culture bearer and contemporary visual artist born and raised in Kāne‘ohe, Hawaiʻi. Acknowledged as a skilled practitioner within his community, Hanalei serves as mentor and advocate for perpetuating Hawaiian fiber techniques and instilling indigenous values in his students. Hanalei is the current Pu’uhonua Society Board President and as the Cultural Advisor at Bishop Museum in Honolulu, he promotes the integration of indigenous mindsets and practices and recognizes the need to legitimize indigenous voices within the Museum field.

“I am overjoyed knowing that so many people are doing amazing things for Hawai‘i and our collective history and that Ho‘ākea Source has the ability to support these efforts in our community.” 

This Program is made possible with the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. In accordance with Andy Warhol’s will, the mission of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is the advancement of the visual arts.

The Foundation manages an innovative and dynamic grants program while also preserving Warhol’s legacy through creative and responsible licensing policies and extensive scholarly research for ongoing catalogue raisonne projects. To date, the Foundation has given nearly $300 million in cash grants to more than 1,000 arts organizations in 49 states and abroad and has donated 52,786 works of art to 322 institutions worldwide.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program aims to support vibrant, under-the-radar artistic activity by partnering with leading cultural institutions in communities across the country. The program allows the Foundation to reach the sizable population of informal, non-incorporated artist collectives and to support their alternative gathering spaces, publications, websites, events and other projects. The Foundation plans to expand this program with partner organizations in areas where the level of on-the-ground, self-organized artistic activity is highest.

Additional funding for the 2025 Grant Cycle is provided by the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.

Laila Twigg-Smith was a well-known art collector, patron of artists and museums, artist and visionary. The Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation continues this legacy in her name. It aims to nurture and promote Hawaiʻi as a global center for the exchange of contemporary arts and artists. The fund supports projects and initiatives that afford artists opportunities to immerse themselves in new environments, to absorb different influences, and to realize fresh visions free of the issues of day-to-day survival.

Additional information about Hoʻākea Source can be found at hoakeasource.org.