This arts and culture calendar features SFCA grantees, partners, and Hawaiʻi state and local government programs and events. Questions regarding a particular program or event should be directed to the organization listed with the opportunity. Inclusion here should not be interpreted as an endorsement.
Festivals and Events
- 83rd Annual Nā Hula Festival Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand, August 11, 2024. For more information, please visit the City and County of Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MoCA) website: honolulumoca.org/83nd-annual-na-hula-festival.
- Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Kahala Mall (Kahala, Oʻahu), Saturday August 17, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. HawaiianSteelGuitarFestival.com/km/hfkmindex.html.
- University of Hawaiʻi Insect Museum at Patagonia Honolulu, Saturday August 17, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Learn about insects and see rare species. Learn more on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources website: cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu.
- Hawaiʻi Book and Music Festival, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, September 14 and 15, 2024. In-person and hybrid events. For more information, please visit the festival website: HawaiiBookAndMusicFestival.com.
- Honolulu Museum of Art Family Sunday, August 18, 2024. Theme: “Kū I Ka Mana: Knowledge Transcends” celebrating Native Hawaiian art and culture. Includes activities and performances related to the exhibit “ʻAuʻa” featuring work by Kapulani Landgraf. HonoluluMuseum.org/pQGjkSK/community-and-family-sundays.
- 48th Annual Honolulu Intertribal Powwow, September 21-22, 2024 at Bishop Museum. BishopMuseum.org/calendar/48th-annual-honolulu-intertribal-powwow.
Workshops and Classes
- “Legacy, Lineage and the Caretakers of Hula” Asia Pacific Dance Festival workshop August 5 – 8, 2024. Free public events include talk story with kūpuna, film screenings, and panel discussion. For more information, please visit the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Outreach College website: manoa.hawaii.edu/outreach/asiapacificdance/2024-festival.
- Hawaiʻi State Public Library System free online education programs through public libraries include digital photography, graphic design, creative writing, and grant writing. Learn more about Gale Courses available through the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System: education.gale.com/l-hawaii.
Art Exhibitions
- Arts and Letters Gallery, Nuʻuanu “Small Clusters: Work 5”, September 6 – October 13, 2024.
- Bishop Museum “Ka ʻUlu Wena: Oceanic Red” exhibition. Through January 12, 2025. For more information, please visit the Bishop Museum website: BishopMuseum.org/KUW.
- Downtown Art Center
- “Hugh Jenkins and Stephanie Ross: Under the Influence” and “Wayne Levin: A Life in Photography” through August 31, 2024.
- The Nature Conservancy Presents: “How Nature Restores Me” August 1 – 31. Includes speaker series through August.
- For more information, please visit the DAC website: DowntownArtHi.org.
- Donkey Mill Art Center “Imagining Kīpuka: Young Artist Exhibition” on view through August 3. For more information, please visit the Donkey Mill Art Center website: DonkeyMillArtCenter.org/happening-now.
- East Hawai’i Cultural Center, “And Now Here We Are”, October 5 – November 29, 2024.
- Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Shaefer International Gallery
- “FOCUS”, featuring seven contemporary Japanese photographers. Through August 7, 2024. mauiarts.org/exhibit-detail.php?id=128.
- “Altered Earth” August 27 – October 19
- Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center and the East Maui Watershed Partnership present “Mālama Wao Akua” September 13 – November 8, 2024.
- Hawai’i Craftsmen Annual Statewide Exhibition 2024, October 4-26, 2024 at the Downtown Art Center.
- “Hoʻokahe Wai, Hoʻoulu ʻĀina: Kalo and Community” exhibition at the East-West Center Gallery (University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa). A partnership between the East-West Center Arts Program and the ʻOhana of Ka Papa Loʻi o Kānewai, this exhibition shares the history, stories, and practice of kalo farming at Ka Papa Loʻi o Kānewai through works of art, video and sound installation, and photographs. Through September 15, 2024.
- Sunday, September 15, 1:00–3:00 pm, Mālama Hāloa family-friendly celebration including food samples, community partner booths, hands-on activities, and performances.
- For more information, please visit the East-West Center website: EastWestCenter.org/education/arts/gallery-exhibition-hookahe-wai-hooulu-aina-kalo-and-community
- Kauaʻi Society of Artists, KSA Gallery.
- Garden Isle Quilters exhibit, August 16 – 24, 2024.
- Art Kauaʻi 2024, September 13 – October 25, 2024
- For more information, please visit the Kauaʻi Society of Artists website: KauaiSocietyOfArtists.org.
- Leeward Community College, Hōikeākea Gallery. “Bitter/Sweet” August 31 – November 2, 2024. Exhibit opening reception Saturday August 31, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. For more information, please visit the gallery website: Leeward.hawaii.edu/hoikeakea.
- Wailoa Arts Center Exhibits (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island)
- “14th Annual Abstract Only!” August 2 – September 26, 2024
- “Hawaiʻi Surrealism Exhibit” October 4 – 24, 2024
- “16th Annual Hawaiʻi Nei” November 1 – December 12, 2024
- Learn more on the Wailoa Arts Center website: WailoaCenter.com.
- “The Location of Up and Down” at Aupuni Space (Honolulu), through September 1, 2024. Solo show of works by Kainoa Gruspe, curated by Don Felix Cervantes. For more information, visit the Aupuni Space website: aupuni.space/Info.
- The Manifest, “HERE: Contemporary Queer Portraiture from Hawaiʻi” September 6 – October 27, 2024. beacons.ai/manini.
- University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Department of Art and Art History
- Three opening receptions: Sunday, September 1, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in The Art Gallery, John Young Museum of Art, and Commons Gallery (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa).
- “John Young, His Life and Work” John Young Museum of Art, September 1 – December 9, 2024. https://hawaii.edu/art/john-young-his-life-work/
- “Tribute to Satoru” Commons Gallery, August 27 – September 29, 2024. https://hawaii.edu/art/tribute-satoru-artist/
- “Satoru Abe: 100 New Paintings” in The Art Gallery through December 8, 2024. https://hawaii.edu/art/satoru-abe-100-new-paintings/
- Learn more on the UHM Art and Art History Department website: hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions-events-museum.
Performances and Presentations
- Chamber Music Hawaiʻi 2024-25 Season
- “American Echoes” with Tresemble, Doris Duke Theatre (Honolulu) 9/7 at 7pm and Palikū theatre (Kāneʻohe) 9/8 at 4 pm.
- “Oktoberfest: Beer, Brats, and Beethoven!” with Honolulu Brass Quintet, Blue Note Hawaiʻi (Honolulu) 10/10 at 6:30 p.m.
- “Jon Nakamatsu: Beethoven & Schumann” with Galliard String Quartet and Spring Wind Quintet, Doris Duke Theatre, 10/19 at 7pm.
- “Rameau, Ravel, and Coleman” with Spring Wind Quintet, Doris Duke Theatre 11/23, 7pm, and Palikū Theatre, 11/24, 4p.m.
- “HBQ Christmas” with Honolulu Brass Quintet at Blue Note Hawaii, 12/16, 6:30 p.m.
- “Holiday Brass” at the Cathedral of St. Andrew, 12/21, 6:30 p.m.
- City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation: Wahiawā Botanical Garden Twilight Concert, Friday August 2, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. https://www.honolulu.gov/parks
- Capitol Modern (Hawaiʻi State Art Museum)
- First Friday, all-ages evening of live music, August 2, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
- Friday Night Tempo, family-friendly evening of live music and Art+Flea urban market, August 16, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. Free admission.
- Super Saturday, hands-on art activities for all ages, August 24. Details to be announced.
- More information on the State Art Museum website calendar: CapitolModern.org/events.
- Downtown Art Center, The Nature Conservancy, and Palmyra present “The Nature Conservancy Presents: How Nature Restores Me” exhibit and speaker series. downtownarthi.org.
- Keoki Kanakaokai, Maui Natural Resources Manager, Sunday August 4, 12:00 p.m.
- ʻAlohi Nakachi, Oʻahu Marine Program Manager, Weds. August 7, 12:00 p.m.
- JC Watson, Terrestrial Conservation Director, Sat. August 17, 11:00 a.m.
- Dana Sabine, Palmyra Science Coordinator, Sat. August 17, 12:00 p.m.
- Sam ʻOhu Gon III, Senior Scientist and Cultural Advisor, Sat. August 24, 12:00 p.m.
- Closing reception: “Hawaiʻi’s Vanishing Forest Birds” with Ulalia Woodside Lee, Executive Director, 4:00 p.m.
- Ebb and Flow Arts 25th Anniversary Season concerts and pre-concert discussions. Free admission made possible in part by grant funding from the SFCA.
- Alexandre Dossin at Keawalaʻi Church (Makena, Maui) August 23; Lutheran Church of Honolulu (Oʻahu) August 25. Free admission. For more information, please visit the Ebb and Flow Arts website: EbbAndFlowArts.org.
- Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking “Filmmaking Talk-story” events in August and September with inspiring stories from experienced filmmakers. Speakers include Ciara Lacy, Shirley Thompson, Jeanette Paulson Hereniko, and Anne Misawa. For more information, please visit the Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking website: HawaiiWomenInFilmmaking.org.
- Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra
- “Olympic Summer Romance” August 8 at the Waikiki Shell.
- “Decades: Back to the 80’s” August 10 at the Waikiki Shell.
- “Peter Pan: A Flight to Neverland” August 16 at the Waikiki Shell.
- “Be Our Guest! The Music of Disney” August 17 and 18 at the Waikiki Shell.
- For more information, please visit the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra website: myhso.org/concerts.
- Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY)
- “Winnie the Pooh and Bunraku Too” August 25, September 1, September 14.
- “The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac”, September 29, October 5.
- For more information, visit the HTY website: membership.htyweb.org/2023-2024-season.
- ʻIolani Palace Kamaʻāina Sunday, August 11. 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., performances, activities, and food vendors. https://www.iolanipalace.org/visit/kamaaina-sundays/
- Kumu Kahua Theatre, “Lovey Lee” August 22 – September 22, 2024. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Kumu Kahua Theatre website: KumuKahua.org/54th-season.
- Manoa Valley Theatre:
- Aloha Comedy Series, August 10 and 24. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Manoa Valley Theatre website: https://www.manoavalleytheatre.com/
- Maui Arts and Cultural Center For more information, please visit the MACC events page: MauiArts.org/events.php?type=MACC.
- Royal Hawaiian Band free lunchtime concerts at ʻIolani Palace every Friday at noon. For more information call 808-522-0822 or visit www.IolaniPalace.org.
- For more information, please visit the Kennedy Theatre website: manoa.hawaii.edu/liveonstage/kennedy-theatre/upcoming-season.
- University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu (UHWO) Library “Kūkulu: He wai e mana” featuring photos and art from Mauna Kea Education and Awareness, UHWO faculty, staff, and students; Nā Kiaʻi o Wai Hā, Oʻahu Water Protectors, and Kaʻohewai. Through September 30, 2024. WestOahu.hawaii.edu/library.
- Volcano Art Center Hula Kahiko performances, August 10 Moses Crabbe Hālauolakalani; September 14, Manaiakalani Kalua; October 12, Iwalani Kalima Hālau Kou Lima Nani E. For more information, please visit the Volcano Art Center website: VolcanoArtCenter.org/hula-arts.
This post was updated on August 13, 2024.