Page 4 - MidWeek Leeward - May 17, 2023
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4 MAY 17, 2023
Leeward CC Invites Public To Art Gallery
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celebrate its 50th season this year, and the campus recently installed a student mural fronting the library to showcase the infusion of In- digenous culture into the art curriculum.
The first exhibition at Hō‘ikeākea Gallery — ‘Ai Pōhaku, Stone Eaters — pays homage to Hawaiian artists and culture bearers, and offers audiences an opportunity to form mean- ingful connections to their diverse work while ensur- ing that their storytelling, through art, is sustained in their ancestral home- lands and abroad. The ex- hibition features pieces by artists Nālamakūikapō Ahsing, Bernice Akamine, Kaili Chun, Herman Piʻikea Clark, Joy Lehuanani Enom- oto, Solomon Robert Nui Enos, Noah Harders, Kapu- lani Landgraf, Nanea Lum, CharltonKūpaʻaHee,Ipō and Kūnani Nihipali, Tiare Ribeaux, Abigail Roman- chak and Maikaʻi Tubbs.
The gallery marks the fifth in a series of six exhibitions
‘Ahu‘ula no Pu‘uloa, 2023, by artist Noah Harders
to open across University of Hawai‘i campuses on Oʻahu. According to ‘Ai Pōhaku, Stone Eaters co-curators Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick,
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faculty Michael Harada worked tirelessly with Mark Lane (former vice chancel- lor) to get this initiative off the ground. We owe this to them.”
According to organizers, Hōʻikeākea Gallery en- gages the community and
Ghost, 2023, by artist Maika‘i Tubbs
Hō‘ikeākeaGallerycoordinatorReemBassous(center)takesaphotowithartistKaili Chun(left)andDrewKahu‘āinaBroderick,co-curatorof‘AiPōhaku,StoneEaters,the gallery’s first exhibition. PHOTOS COURTESY LEEWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
(From left) Carlos Peñaloza, Leeward Community College chancellor; Jim Goodman, LCC former dean of Office of Arts and Sciences; Momi Kamahele, LCC professorandNativeHawaiianstudentsupportcoordinator;andKealaChock, LCC vice chancellor of academic affairs, pose for a photo at the opening of Hō‘ikeākea Gallery.
Artist Nālamakūikapō Ahsing explains his work to gallery visitors.
Leeward’s student body in unique experiences with art. Situated near Pu‘uloa (Pearl Harbor), Hōʻikeākea acknowledges the responsi- bility of place, as exhibitions allow artists from beyond Hawaiʻi to have a dialogue with local artists. The gal- lery’s unique location es- tablishes Hawai‘i within a larger discourse on art, while encouraging critical thinking through aesthetic experienc- es that are cross-disciplinary and relevant to contempo- rary social narratives.
Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu and Josh Tengan, this effort rep- resents the first large-scale exhibition of Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) art within the UH system in 20 years.
them visually and challenge them conceptually, some- times beyond their comfort zone, in pursuit of a new understanding of what art is or can be. This is critical for any society, but especially for Hawaiʻi, which is in such a unique position in time where very exciting things are happening on multiple levels.”
In addition to Hōʻikeākea Gallery’s broader program- ming, it will host an annual juried show for local high school students, as well as a LCC student show. Ac- cording to the college, the campus has long served as a hub for higher education in the arts for Leeward O‘ahu residents.
“We will only succeed when we have 30 galleries like Hōʻikeākea Gallery,” Bassous says. “An art gal- lery of this caliber serves as a place of education for the public. The role of curators and artists is not to please people, but rather to engage
The Leeward Theatre, open again after closure during the pandemic, will
For more information, visit leeward.hawaii.edu/ the-arts#hoikeakea.
