Expanding access to an art therapy program and helping galleries in Lahaina may be on the state Legislature's agenda to aid Maui's recovery efforts.
Sen. Chris Lee, the chair of the Transportation and Culture and the Arts Committee, said the Legislature will focus on helping the historic West Maui town, especially Lahaina's art scene.
"Lahaina is one of those communities with such a rich, diverse, and culturally an art-focused community. So many of the galleries, the artists, and folks in the community have lost everything," Lee said.
The Aug. 8 blaze destroyed much of Lahaina, including Front Street businesses home to beloved art galleries. Artists have also lost their lifeworks and homes to the fire.
Artists and gallery owners are now trying to figure out what to do while the town is expected to take at least five years to rebuild.
Lahaina is a top destination for art collectors who come from all over the world, according to Jock Armour, director of Wyland Galleries. It is one of many Front Street businesses that burned down.
"It's tough going forward. People that lost their lifeworks, they still want to continue working," he said. "But where is that on this island? It's been four or five months now. There's no magic bullet as far as what to do in the interim."
Wyland Galleries was built on wooden stilts. When the fire happened, the gallery burned into the ocean.
In the meantime, Wyland Galleries has locations across the state, but Armour said some gallery owners are considering moving away from Hawaiʻi.
While legislative measures are still being crafted ahead of the 2024 session, Lee said the state must figure out how to help galleries.
"One of the things we want to do is make sure that as the recovery takes place, that the pipeline that all the artists around Maui used, the galleries in Lahaina to actually sell their work, can continue so that it doesn't put everybody else permanently out of work," he told HPR.
Lee said he wants to mirror the business model used as a recovery method from the Great Depression between the 1920s and 1940s.
Then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal included a Works Progress Administration program, which employed job seekers to carry out public projects, including building roads.
Lee said he wants a similar program but focused on the art community.
In that same vein, state Rep. Adrian Tam wants to introduce a bill that would expand an art therapy program to victims of trauma, incarcerated people and students.
Tam, the chair of the House Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs, said the measure is being drafted.
"It was mainly a topic of discussion following the wildfires. We know that there are a lot of benefits that come with art therapy," Tam said. "If you think about it, many of these families, especially kids, have gone through a lot of trauma in the past couple of months. Art therapy would be a coping mechanism and be the healing process for them."
The culture and arts bills will compete with other priorities in Maui's recovery efforts, such as rebuilding homes and businesses.
State Rep. Sonny Ganaden said "arts are a bit underfunded" in Hawaiʻi.
Still, lawmakers want to continue funding the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the agency that runs the state museum recently rebranded to Capitol Modern.
Ganaden is a local printmaker and co-director of the annual Art at the Capitol.
"This provides numerous opportunities for artists and artistic groups to develop capacity throughout the islands, making sure that the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum, Capitol Modern has the opportunity to fulfill its grant and develop its grant obligations," he said.
Back on Maui, Armour of Wyland Galleries said he hopes lawmakers will focus on legislation that is respectful to the community.
"If you want to rebuild Lahaina, you have to think of what made it what it was. And that was just one of the driving heartbeats of that community, the arts community," Armour said.
The legislative session begins Jan. 17, with bills set to be introduced by then.
