Arts & Culture

When Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire, debuted in New York in 1951, the Times’ theater critic called it, “a quietly woven study of intangibles.”  In the years since, the play has become a film and an opera, and it still is an unvarnished look at what can happen to innocence.   HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on the opera by Andre Previn, opening amidst great anticipation this week in Honolulu. 

Worldwide, over two million people participated in Women’s Marches on Saturday, concerned about U.S. positions on climate change, immigration, healthcare, reproductive rights, the world community, and more.  Here in Hawai‘i, an estimated five thousand on Maui, an equal number on Hawai‘i Island, two thousand on Kaua‘i and eight thousand more in Honolulu took the opportunity to air a diversity of concerns.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa offers this sampling from the colorful Women’s March in Honolulu.

Nearly a hundred twenty nine thousand people voted for Donald Trump in Hawai‘i, and this morning, Hawai‘i Republicans convened at Ward Big City Diner to watch and celebrate the inauguration together.   President Trump’s inauguration is prompting other gatherings, including a teach in at UH Manoa today, a community concert tonight, and the international Women’s March tomorrow, now with over 600 sister marches world- wide.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports.

  This year, for Hawai‘i’s celebration of Reverend Martin Luther King’s holiday there was a  Run for Peace on Maui, a commemorative walk happened on Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i island celebrated in Kona on Sunday.  In Honolulu, HPR’s Noe Tanigawa spoke with some of the millennials in attendance at what is called the annual "People's Parade." 

In November, a Facebook post from Maui ignited what is becoming the largest demonstration linked to President-elect Trump’s inauguration.  On January 21st, Mr. Trump’s first day in office, Women's March demonstrations are scheduled in every state and in thirty three countries around the world, with participation now nearing six hundred thousand people.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports sister marches are being organized on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, and Hawai‘i island. 

When legendary promoter, Tom Moffatt, passed last month, eyes turned to the team at Bamp Project as the most likely successors in the very important task of booking Hawai‘i’s entertainment offerings.  If that’s the case, the guys at Bamp say they have several decades ahead to prove themselves.  Meanwhile, HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports there’s quality and diversity so far in the 2017 line up.

There are over two hundred Fringe Festivals all over the globe, and now O‘ahu and Maui’s festivals are joining the tribe.  “Fringe” festivals are known for the performing arts, they’re uncensored, original, easy to participate in and easy to attend because they use neighborhood venues.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports.

Hawai‘i Slam, a monthly spoken word poetry competition, has been happening since 2003.  It’s considered the largest poetry slam in the world, attracting 500 plus people at its peak  This year, Hawai‘i's team placed second in the National Poetry Slam competition.  You'll find enthusiastic crowds regularly at the First Thursday slams at Hawaiian Brian’s, and Noe Tanigawa reports you may be surprised by what you hear.

Most people assume that robots, artificial intelligence and technology will play major roles in our future, but have you really thought about their implications for society?  Futurist James Dator contends we are already half way into changes that may make working for a living obsolete.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports.  

Photographs of downtown Honolulu on December 7th, 1941, show Christmas lights festooned overhead all up and down Fort Street.  Stores like Liberty House and the Ritz prided themselves on creating window displays like those celebrated holiday highlights in New York City.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports some Chinatown businesses are re-igniting the tradition through New Year’s Eve.

This time of year, you can feel Honolulu’s major roadways clogging up from late afternoon.  As the pau  hana traffic mounts today, a few dozen people will head to an oasis of calm at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Queen Emma street downtown.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on Jazz Vespers that happen every Thursday at St. Peter’s, starting at 6 in the evening.

Hawai‘i has a strong clay culture, and much of it is community based.  The Hawai‘i Potters’ Guild, the Volcano Village Artists, Hui No‘eau, the Lāna‘i Arts Center, and Kaua‘i Community College all play crucial roles keeping ceramics alive on their respective islands.  Recently, the Moloka‘i Arts Center jumped in too, for people love to work with clay.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on the first statewide juried ceramics exhibition.

“Go for Broke” was the motto of the 442 Regimental Combat Team.  It was a spirit that changed the minds of Americans as they watched ethnic Japanese fight and die for the United States, even while their relatives were stripped of possessions and thrown into camps.  Over forty years later, President Reagan signed legislation that admitted "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership" caused the internment.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on the legacy we all share from this experience.

When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor seventy five years ago, thirty seven percent of Hawai‘i’s population was ethnically Japanese.  Honolulu hummed with Japanese run restaurants, sundry stores, hardware and grocery stores, everyone went to Japanese movies, and Japanese maids and gardeners worked in many wealthy homes.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on how Japanese and others felt during the period.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor was a turning point for Hawai‘i, but it was also the culmination of decades of militarization on O‘ahu.  At the same time, ethnic Japanese constituted forty percent of Hawai‘i’s population, a fact not lost on Washington, as Japanese armies spread across China and the Pacific.

Rain, in old Hawai‘i, was celebrated in its myriad forms, passing mists to drenching downpours, different in each village and valley.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa spoke with a scholar and kumu hula whose book on Hawaiian rain names opens new vistas in the natural world.

More than sixty years ago, a San Francisco nightclub helped a number of entertainers from Hawai‘i make their mark in show business. 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”  When Margaret Mead said that, she could have been talking about a lot of community groups, including the small, hard working team that has kept the ARTS at Marks Garage alive for fifteen years now.   HPR's Noe Tanigawa reports.

November is Hawai‘i Fashion Month, and Honolulu Fashion Week festivities are getting underway at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.  This year’s Fashion Marketplace features nearly fifty designers of jewelry, clothing, and accessories from across the state.  Free runway shows featuring local and international designers run through today and tomorrow.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports.

Today, everyone who uses social media is, in effect, creating an image and a brand; activities that used to be the domain of advertising agencies.  The next HPR ThinkSpot with the Honolulu Museum of Art focuses on two successful entrepreneurs, jeweler Bliss Lau and branding and marketing strategist Jasmine Takanikos, who will share tips on centering your brand, as an entrepreneur or as an individual.

Syrian American hip hop artist, Omar Offendum, was ready when the World Trade Center attacks thrust him into the spotlight.  In the years since, he’s used his platform to build links between the U.S. and especially, the Syrian culture in which he was raised.  Offendum is in Honolulu now, for a residency at Doris Duke’s Shangri La Center for Islamic Arts and Cultures.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports Offendum employs the raw honesty characteristic of hip hop to explore tough issues on a human level.

Most people who live in Hawai‘i are conscious of a Hawai‘i Style, and over the years many have tried to put a finger on what that style is.  In the 20th century, UH Professor John Charlot wrote about a Hawaiian esthetic, calling it a distillation of our natural environment.

This is the last weekend to enjoy a particularly splash making exhibit at Spalding House in Makiki.  “Plastic Fantastic?” features beautiful art made of or about plastic debris.  In addition, HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports there’s progress on ways to deal with this ubiquitous, non-disposable substance. 

“Plastic Fantastic?” continues at the Honolulu Museum of Art’s Spalding House in Makiki through Sunday. 

Octrober 2, 2016.  

Japanese art and crafts have a reputation for quality and centuries of what seem like unbroken tradition behind them.  A new exhibition coming to Honolulu will feature experts in traditional metalwork, ceramics, painting, and fabric dye who use impeccable technique to tell contemporary stories.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on Imayo: Japan’s New Traditionists.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, more than 90% of the plants and animals inhabiting Hawaii are native to this place, and a greater variety of fish exist in Hawaiian waters than anywhere else.  Protecting these plants and creatures can seem overwhelming, but individuals do find ways to make a difference.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on one such case.

What we know and learn depends a lot on how we receive the information.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports a yearlong collaboration between local artists and scientists has yielded a cunning series of prints that intrigue, delight, and enlighten. 

  Some adventurous Honolulu ceramists have set the tables at Mark’s Garage with dinnerware you may not have seen the likes of before.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa found well-made new ways to serve your next meal.

“Dinner Party” continues at Mark’s Garage through October 1st.  

  Artist Mariko Merritt is one of the ten ceramists showing in the Dinner Party exhibition at Marks’ Garage.  She watched the show’s instigator, Daven Hee, as he made some imaginative mini pourers—perfect for shoyu.