Samples from local sound artist Kit Ebersbach; Jane Goodsill discusses new book, Voices of Hawai'i; Corporate support for hula and arts; Island Insurance Foundation on supporting arts and education; Kauai muralist on his work and travels; New Blue Clay Studio opens at fishcake gallery
Status of the arts in 2021
Teri Skillman is the CEO of the Hawai’i Arts Alliance. Since the pandemic began, a Creative Resurgence Hui has been strategizing how the arts can strengthen Hawai’i’s recovery. As part of that hui, Skillman says, there are concrete ways to move forward this year.
Hawai'i Contemporary to hold 2021 Art Summit virtually
Hawai’i Contemporary is planning a virtual Art Summit to connect people from all walks of life. It will run February 10-13 with talks, performances, film screenings and workshops open to all. Click here to register for free at Hawai’i Contemporary's website.
Samples from local sound artist Kit Ebersbach
Kit Ebersbach is an experimentalist music artist in Honolulu. He's been performing online over the course of the pandemic, and he just dropped a new album on bandcamp this December.
Jane Goodsill discusses new book, Voices of Hawai'i
Author Jane Marshall Goodsill compiles seventy-five oral histories in her new book, including that of her father, who moved to Hawai'i from New York in 1941. Goodsill will host a talk and book signing Saturday, January 23rd at 11 am. in Native Books in Arts & Letters Building on Nu?uanu Ave. Click here to register for the event.
Corporate support for hula and the arts
Jan Harada is the Executive Director of the HT Hayashi Foundation, which distributed close to $670 thousand last year. Their contributions included $50 thousand fund and a multi-year commitment to preserve original hula resources. Trisha Kehaulani Watson is the President of the Kalihi Palama Culture and Arts Society. They are partnering with the State Archives to digitize over one hundred years of first-person hula knowledge and make it accessible worldwide through the web.
Island Insurance Foundation on supporting arts and education
Dana Tokioka is President and Executive Director of Island Insurance Foundation, which gave away close to $900 thousand in 2020, including seed funding for the new Downtown Art Center. Under Dana's leadership, the foundation also bought the house for Lee Cataluna's play at Kumu Kahua last December and made the digital production free for all viewers. Tokioka joins us to discuss her foundation's longstanding support for arts and education.
Kaua'i muralist on his work and travels
On Kaua'i, local non-profits, county commitment and Covid funding have sparked changes in Lihu'e. Last October, forty-five mural artists set to work in the world debut of Nirmana Fest, a Garden Island mural painting festival. Today, colorful murals brighten five different walls along ‘Ewalu and Rice streets. Seth Womble, an international mural artist who's lived on Kaua'i for ten years, spearheaded the collaborative project.
New Blue Clay Studio opens at fishcake gallery
Fishcake gallery has expanded to include the new Blue Clay ceramic studio, coordinated by ceramist Jun Funahashi. You can reserve the studio, become a member, or sign up for workshop online at fishcake's website.
