An exhibition at the University of Hawaiʻi Art Gallery calls for wai to run freely, here in Hawaiʻi and in the Middle East. Four artists wanted to speak out in solidarity about water's role in self-determination — from Lahaina to Lebanon.
The exhibit “ʻO Ka Wai Mai مي From Lahaina to the Litani” is on view through Wednesday at the UH Mānoa gallery. The Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts has pledged to purchase five artworks from the show.
HPR spoke with two artists behind the exhibition. Melissa Chimera is a land care specialist with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and Reem Bassous is a painter and the executive artistic director of the Washington Studio School in Washington, D.C.
This story aired on The Conversation on Feb. 17, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
