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New Art Exhibit in Honolulu Hale in Honor of Earth Month

Aloha ʻĀina Art by Hawaiʻi's Keiki and ʻŌpio on display April 29 through May 19

O‘AHU -- Launching at the end of Earth Month, a new exhibit Aloha ʻĀina Art by Hawaiʻi's Keiki and ʻŌpio is on display in Honolulu Hale from April 29-May 19 bringing together local groups and organizers that are actively working together to protect our wai and to express their love for our ʻāina.

The exhibit features creative work including paintings, poetry and stories by Mele Murals, Wisdom Circles Oceania, and volunteers of the Sierra Club showcasing various perspectives of youth and the community at large. Together the work presented in this exhibit serves as a reminder that protecting wai and ʻāina is a collective effort and requires the participation and commitment of everyone in the community.

Earth Day, held on April 22, is the largest civic observance in the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection efforts, and this year the City's Earth Month has promoted the importance of keeping O‘ahu's waterways clean from the mountain tops to the ocean.

Aloha ʻĀina Art by Hawaiʻi's Keiki and ʻŌpio is presented by Mele Murals, Sierra Club and Wisdom Circles Oceania, with support from the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency and the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA) to hold space for stories from O‘ahu's youth. Special thanks to Laurel Nakanishi, Estria Miyashiro, Sheanae Tam, and Sierra Dew and Koda for their participation in this program.

The exhibition is on view in Honolulu Hale Courtyard from April 29-May 19, 2023. Honolulu Hale is located at 530 South King Street and is open Monday through Friday from 7:45 AM -- 4:30 PM. An opening event will be held on Saturday, April 29 from 10:00am-12:00pm in Honolulu Hale.

Civic spaces in Honolulu Hale such as the courtyard and Lane Gallery, are managed by MOCA to showcase the talents of visual artists and the work of non-profit organizations and schools from our diverse community. Partnerships with community organizations have enabled MOCA to grace the halls of City buildings with a wide range of artwork displayed on a monthly basis. All exhibits are free and open to the public, details available at: https://honolulumoca.org/current-exhibitions.

Exhibition Highlights:

Photography of recent work by Mele Murals: For the last two decades Mele Murals has created community murals in Hawaiʻi that address the ill effects of cultural dispossession, loss of land, and environmental damage in communities. In the creation of the mural projects, Mele Murals combines public art methods and place-based practices incorporating meditation into conception process. Murals on display focus on mele (Hawaiian lyrics) that explore moʻolelo ‘āina (stories of place) and cultural and historical heritage. Local artists, youth, and other communities, spanning the eight major islands of Hawaiʻi, continue to participate in their programs today.

Paintings by ʻĀliamanu Middle School Afterschool Program facilitated by Mele Murals: ʻĀliamanu Middle School students created paintings voicing their perspectives on Ola I Ka Wai (Water is Life) and the importance of freshwater in communities. Many of these students have been directly affected by the contaminated water in their communities.

Concrete and lyric poetry by Mānoa Elementary School: Students from Mānoa Elementary School worked with professional writer Laurel Nakanishi to create concrete and lyric poems as a part of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) Artists-in-the-Schools program. After studying the history, geography, and moʻolelo of Mānoa, including visits from three kūpuna who grew up in the valley, students wrote lyric poems that expressed their relationship with Mānoa. Nakanishi then led the students in the creation of concrete poetry inspired by the work of Native Hawaiian photographer Kapulani Landgraf.

The Wai Story Quilt organized by Wisdom Circles Oceania: the Wai Story Quilt was created in Spring and Summer 2022 through a series of workshops led by Wisdom Circles Oceania and Women's Voices Women Speak responding to the Kapūkakī (Red Hill) contamination crisis. Thirty community workers and eighty-six community members created images on the Wai Story quilt with the intention of creating dialogue around the ideas and connections between all the collaborators.

About the organizations:

Wisdom Circles Oceania is a healing-centered arts organization based in Hawaiʻi that has provided a creative framework for individuals and groups to seek healing and community justice through artistic expression since 2016. We believe we need more safe places to gather that nurture our creative spirits. When we can share our stories, gifts and dreams together we collectively build in abundance + 'āina momona. Wisdom Circles Oceania primarily serves women and youth, welcomes all artistic capabilities, and is inclusive of all gender expressions.

Mele Murals promotes youth development, arts education, cultural preservation, and community-building through the creation of large-scale outdoor murals. Mele Mural's visual storytelling program pulls together visual storytelling teams from keiki through kūpuna from each respective community. They reach into the heart of the community to collectively create the mo‘olelo, imagery, and theme depicted on each project wall. We are here to help you tell your story.

The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi
The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi is working to advance climate solutions, act for justice, get outdoors, and protect Hawai‘i's lands, water, air, and wildlife. They work on both statewide and county-based issues, activating our 27,000+ members and supporters to get involved on issues they care about through our groups on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Oʻahu, and Kauaʻi.

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