Photo: view of “Mai Nā Kūpuna Mai: From the Ancestors” exhibit in the The Art Gallery at University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Department of Art and Art History through February 11, 2024. “Ka Piko” by Sean K.L. Browne in the foreground, “Ascending” by Maile Andrade in the background. Photo credit: University of Hawaiʻi.
This arts and culture calendar features SFCA grantees, partners, and Hawaiʻi state and local government programs and events. A partial list is included in the December 2023 SFCA email newsletter.
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.
Family Friendly Events
Bishop Museum Winter Weekend, Saturday December 16, 2023. 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., free with museum admission. A fun, safe, and festive holiday-themed Bishop Museum event with activities, crafts, and food. For more information, please visit the Bishop Museum website calendar: BishopMuseum.org/calendar/winter-weekend.
Workshops and Classes
- Book Forms and Other Transformations with Marcia Morse, Saturday December 2, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. For details and registration please contact [email protected].
- 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.
- Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities Washington Place Poetry Workshop with Hawaiʻi State Poet Laureate Brandy Nālani McDougall. Sunday December 10, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. To register, please visit the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities page on Eventbrite: Washington Place Poetry Workshop, with Brandy Nālani McDougall Tickets, Sun, Dec 10, 2023 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite
- Ke Kumu Hawaiʻi ʻieʻie weaving (Hawaiian basketry) workshops at the Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center (Makawao, Maui), December 2-3, 2023. For more information, please visit the Ke Kumu Hawaiʻi website: KeKumuHawaii.com.
- PAʻI Arts and Cultural Center grand opening weekend includes a variety of Native Hawaiian workshops, including Mele ʻAi Pōhaku (slam poetry) and lauhala bracelet weaving. For more information and to register, please visit the PAʻI Arts and Culture Center’s Eventbrite page: PAʻI Open House Workshops Tickets, Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite.
- US Small Business Administration (SBA) (Hawaiʻi Pacific Islands)
- Government Contracting 101 online webinar, Wednesday December 6, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. Register on the SBA website: sba.gov/event/38539.
Art Exhibitions
- Bishop Museum “Project Banaba” exhibition through February 18, 2024. For more information, please visit the Bishop Museum website: BishopMuseum.org.
- Donkey Mill Art Center “The ʻĀina Speaks” exhibit, featuring portraits of Hawaiʻi Island farmers, ‘āina practitioners, and cultivators who work intimately with the land. November 4 – December 16, 2023 at the Donkey Mill Art Center (Holualoa, Hawaiʻi Island). For more information, please visit the Donkey Mill Art Center website: DonkeyMillArtCenter.org/happening-now.
- East-West Center Art Gallery (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa) “Storyboards of Palau: Artistry, Influence, Impact” gallery exhibition October 29, 2023 – January 7, 2024.
- Artist Panel: “Traditional Palauan Arts and Stories in Contemporary Contexts” with Kalany Omengkar, Elsei Tellei, and Anthony Watson, moderated by curator Margo Vitarelli. Sunday December 3, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m.
- ʻOhana Day: family-friendly demonstrations and hands-on activities, Sunday January 7, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
- For more information, please visit the East-West Center website: eastwestcenter.org/education/gallery-exhibition-storyboards-palau-artistry-influence-impact.
- Capitol Modern (Hawaiʻi State Art Museum) current exhibits “Accession: new additions to the Art in Public Places Collection”, “Fear of the Unknown” and “Creatures and Characters”. First Friday all-ages art and music event December 1, 6-9 p.m., The Vibe live all-ages music event Friday December 8, 6-9 p.m., More information on the State Art Museum website calendar: CapitolModern.org/events.
- Kauaʻi Society of Artists, KSA Gallery.
- “Small Works Show” November 18-January 5, 2024
- For more information, please visit the Kauaʻi Society of Artists website: KauaiSocietyOfArtists.org.
- Leeward Community College (Pearl City, Oʻahu): “Ghosts of War” art exhibit October 28-December 30, 2023. For more information, please visit the Leeward Community College website: leeward.hawaii.edu/the-arts#hoikeakea.
- Wailoa Arts Center Exhibits (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island)
- “15th Annual Hawaiʻi Nei” November 3 – December 14, 2023
- “Plein Aire Perspectives” January 5 – 25, 2024
- “Full Bleed, Art at the Edges: Anime, Manga and Urban Art” February 2 – March 21, 2024
- “MANA” March 29 – April 25, 2024
- “The Paths We Cross: Perspectives from the Korean Diaspora” May 3 – June 27, 2024
- “Assemblage” July 5 – 25, 2024
- “14th Annual Abstract Only!” August 2 – September 26, 204
- “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.
- University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Department of Art and Art History
- “Mai Nā Kūpuna Mai: From the Ancestors” in the The Art Gallery through February 11, 2024.
- “Jean Charlot as Critic: Art in Hawaiʻi, 1950-1970” through December 3, 2023 at the John Young Museum of Art.
- Learn more on the UHM Art and Art History Department website: hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions-events-museum.
Performances and Presentations
- Bamboo Ridge Oral History Project online panel discussion and preview of the website (including sound clips, curated excerpts, transcripts). Monday, December 4, 2023. 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Zoom. Learn more and register on the Bamboo Ridge Press website event page: BambooRidge.org/events-2.
- Independent Film/Media Arts Group (IMAG) National Field Meeting – free virtual meeting focused on arts program models at the intersection of media arts and technology, with a special lens on arts education and STE(A)M initiatives. Wednesday December 6, 2023 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time. Free with registration. Learn more and register at arts.zoomgov.com: IMAG National Field Meeting registration page.
- Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra (HSO) upcoming concerts include “HapaSymphony: Na Leo Pilimehana” December 2 and “Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony” December 3. For more information, please visit the HSO website: myhso.org/concerts.
- Maui Arts and Cultural Center Maui Pops Orchestra – Holiday Pops with vocalist Kalani Peʻa and dance performance by Hālau o ka Hanu Lehua, December 10, 2023. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Maui Arts and Cultural Center website: MauiArts.org.
- 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.
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Kennedy Theatre
- The Maiden Benten and the Bandits of the White Waves April 19-20 and 26-28, 2024. A popular kabuki play, The Maiden Benten and the Bandits of the White Waves, commonly known as Benten Kozō, features five distinctive thieves with a mastery of masquerade, and a command of language from the gutter to the poetically sublime. Together with a full array of colorful kabuki characters, their schemes and back stories lead to shocking revelations, surprising reunions, startling twists and ultimately result in the realization that one cannot escape karma—though in meeting it, one need not abandon spectacle or beauty.
- For more information, please visit the Kennedy Theatre website: manoa.hawaii.edu/liveonstage/kennedy-theatre/current-season.
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Outreach College, World Performance Series
- Anna Geniushene, 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Silver Medalist, Sunday, March 3, 2024. University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa Orvis Auditorium. For more information, please visit the UHM Outreach College website: outreach.hawaii.edu/arts-culture/world-performance-series.