Newly appointed commissioners Mamoru Sato and Paige Miki Kalāokananikiʻekiʻe Okamura will serve on the city’s Commission on Culture and Arts, approved by the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi appointed Okamura and Sato to join the 11-member panel tasked with assisting the city in preserving the artistic and cultural heritage of the people, promoting a community environment revolving around culture and arts, and providing equal opportunity for showcasing cultural artistic talents in Honolulu.
Sato is an emeritus professor at the University of Hawaiʻi’s Department of Art and Art History. He also designed the city’s seal that hangs on the council chamber’s wall, according to Chair Tommy Waters.
Sato said the seal took up to a month to create, using clay and fiberglass.
Okamura is a training specialist and Nakapuna Consulting and an on-air host of Hawaiʻi Public Radio’s program "Hawaiʻi Kulāiwi."
She has a master’s in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and teaches and translates the Hawaiian language for various local programs.
Sato and Okamura will replace outgoing commissioners Glenn Medeiros and Deborah Pope, whose terms expire this year. The incoming commissioners' terms will last until June 30, 2028.
The commission was founded in 1968 after the passing of the Percent for Art law in 1967.
Disclaimer: Paige Okamura is an on-air host at HPR.
