Arts and Culture Calendar (February 2023)

This arts and culture calendar features SFCA grantees, partners, and Hawaiʻi state and local government programs and events.

Questions regarding a particular opportunity should be directed to the organization listed with the opportunity. Inclusion here should not be interpreted as an endorsement. 

• Bishop Museum “The Work, Traditions, and Stories behind Bishop Museum’s exhibit, ‘Tatau: Marks of Polynesia” now available to watch for free on YouTube. 
• Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Prince Kūhiō Parade (Kapolei, Oʻahu), Saturday March 25, 5:30 p.m. 
• City and County of Honolulu, Department of Parks and Recreation 95th annual Lei Day Celebration will be held on Monday, May 1, 2023 at Kapiʻolani Park, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. The theme is Lei Kuahiwi – Mountain Lei. Learn more on the DPR website: honolulu.gov/parks/program/182-site-dpr-cat/1685-lei-day. 
• City and County of Honolulu, Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MoCA): Community Art Exhibition, “Korea: There and Here” through February 10, 2023, Honolulu Hale Courtyard and Lane Gallery. Presented in partnership with the Korean American Foundation. For more information, please visit the MoCA website:  HonoluluMOCA.org.
• Diamond Head Theatre Opens in New Theatre with Cinderella “Cinderella” January 20 – February 5, 2023. For more information and tickets, please visit the Diamond Head Theatre website: DiamondHeadTheatre.com/shows-tickets. 
• Hawaiʻi Craftsmen Annual Statewide Exhibition 2023 prospectus now available. Important dates: online registration August 1 – 31, exhibit open September 30 – October 28 at the Downtown Art Center (Honolulu), opening reception Saturday September 30, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. For more information, please visit the Hawaiʻi Craftsmen website: HawaiiCraftsmen.org. 
• Hawaiʻi Handweavers’ Hui and The Glass Fusion Collective “Surrounded by Water” juried art exhibition, Downtown Art Center (Honolulu), August 2-18, 2023. Online registration begins July 1, 2023. For more information, please contact the Hawaiʻi Handweavers Hui at [email protected] or visit their website at HawaiiHandweavers.org.  
• Hawaiʻi Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE) Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival at Ka Makana Aliʻi (Kapolei) February 18; Kona Steel Guitar Festival at the Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa (Hawaiʻi Island) March 24-25; Kauaʻi Hawaiian Steel Guitar Symposium, Sheraton Coconut Beach Resort May 3-4; Kauaʻi Steel Guitar Festival, Sheraton Coconut Beach Resort May 4-6 and Kukui Grove Center May 7. 2023 Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase – Livestream February 18, March 25, April 22, May 4, June 10. For more information, please visit the HIMELE website: himele.org/hmevents.html. 
• Hawaiian Mission Houses ʻOhe Kapala carving workshops by Nalu Andrade of Nā Maka Kahiko, February 25, March 25, April 8, May 13, June 3. 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. For more information, please visit the Hawaiian Mission Houses website: MissionHouses.org. 
• Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre (HOT) “The Elixer of Love” February 17 and 19 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. For more information, please vist the Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre website: HawaiiOpera.org.  
• Hawaiʻi State Public Library System free events at public libraries include storytime, crafting, and music performances. Learn more about public library events on the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System website: LibrariesHawaii.org/events . 
• Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Upcoming live events include “Hapa Symphony featuring Honolulu Jazz Quartet” April 15 at the Hawaiʻi Theatre. For more information please visit the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra website at MyHSO.org/concerts. 
• Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation and the University of Hawaiʻi-Manoa’s Historic Preservation Graduate Certificate Program 2023 Experts Historic Preservation Lecture series: Historic Cemeteries. Expert presenters will lead a journey of six historic cemeteries in Hawaiʻi describing their histories and what makes them significant. The series will be held online Thursday from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m., through March 2, 2023. For more information and to register, please visit the Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation website: HistoricHawaii.org. 
• Honolulu Theatre for Youth World Premiere of “Happy, Sad, Sad, Happy” a show by Annie Cusick Wood and the HTY ensemble. The show was developed through a grant from the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health, Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division as an initiative to promote Health Equity. The show, geared for young children and families, explores feelings and social-emotional development. For more information, please visit the Honolulu Theatre for Youth website: htyweb.org. 
• Hui Noʻeau 2023 Annual Juried Exhibition, through February 17 View current work of local and mainland artists in all media. An SFCA Acquisition Award Selection Committee (AASC) has been approved to visit this exhibition. For more information, please visit the Hui Noʻeau website: HuiNoeau.com/exhibitions. 
• ʻIke Kanaka Exhibit at Maui Arts and Cultural Center, through March 18, 2023 This invitational exhibit will feature work by ten contemporary Kanaka ʻŌiwi artists, giving voice and cultural context to ancestral ties and relationships. Participating artists: Bernice Akamine, Kalaʻi Blakemore, Hoaka Delos Reyes, Solomon Enos, Pōhaku Kahoʻohanohano, Lehuauakea, Kawika Lum-Nelmida, Meleanna Aluli Meyer, Auliʻi Mitchell, Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum. For more information, please visit the Maui Arts and Cultural Center website: MauiArts.org/ike-kanaka.  
• Kauaʻi Society of Artists (KSA) “Kauaʻi Quilt Show” February 10-22, 2023. Opening reception Friday February 10, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the KSA Gallery (Kukui Grove Center, Lihue). For more information, please visit the KSA website: KauaiSocietyofArtists.org.
• Kauaʻi Society of Artists (KSA) “KSA Spring Show” entry day Saturday, February 25, 2023. Exhibit will be open March 4-31. For more information, please visit the KSA website: KauaiSocietyofArtists.org.
• Leeward Community College (Pearl City, Oʻahu) will soon be home to a new art gallery to showcase works from LCC students, faculty, and other artists. Meanwhile, the LCC Arts website (Leeward.hawaii.edu/the-arts) and Instagram (@LeewardCCart) feature artworks by LCC students and faculty.  
• Manoa Valley Theatre presents “Tick, Tick…Boom!” March 9-26; “The Play That Goes Wrong” May 11-28; “The Chinese Lady” July 13-30. For more information, please visit the MVT website: ManoaValleyTheatre.com. 
• Maui Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) presents kumu hula Aulii Mitchell and Hālau ʻo Kahiwahiwa, HĀNAU HOU KA HULA KIʻI performance Sunday February 26, 10:00 a.m. For more information and tickets, please visit the MACC website: MauiArts.org/show-info.php?id=848.
• Paʻi Foundation “Māhū Madness” and the annual “MAMo Wearable Art Show” February 17 and 18, 2023. For more information, visit the Paʻi Foundation website: paifoundation.org. 
• Royal Hawaiian Band free lunchtime concerts at Iolani Palace every Friday at noon.  For more information call 808-522-0822 or visit www.IolaniPalace.org. 
• Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art “#8x8_shangrila_2023” exhibit featuring new work by eight visual artists and eight performing artists living in Hawaiʻi. through April 1, 2023. For more information, please visit the Shangri La website: ShangriLaHawaii.org/visit/exhibitions/8x8_shangrila_23. 
• Wailoa Arts Center 2023 Exhibits (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island) 
  • “A Muʻu in time” exhibition of muʻumuʻu, through February 17, 2023.  
  • “Light and Shadow” juried black and white photography exhibit, March 3-30, 2023. 
  • “MANA” curated by Nelson and Kainoa Makua, April 7-27, 2023 
  • “10x10x10 Artists Challenge” May 5-25, 2023 
  • “6^th Annual MidSummer Art Celebration” June 2-28, 2023 
  • “In the Time of Climate Change” July 7-27, 2023 
  • “13^th Annual Abstract Only!” August 4 – September 14, 2023 
  • “Toi o Taranaki ke ti Tonga” October 6-26, 2023 
  • “15^th Annual Hawaiʻi Nei” November 3 – December 14, 2023 
  • Learn more on the Wailoa Arts Center website: WailoaCenter.com. 
• West Hawaiʻi County Band free concert Sunday February 26, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Hale Halawai Park (Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi Island). Marches, jazz tunes, musical scores and Hawaiian traditional music. For more information please visit the West Hawaiʻi County Band website: WestHawaiiBand.com. 
• Windward Community College: Gallery ‘Iolani “Listening for a Heartbeat: A Retrospective of Works by Emily McIlroy” February 3 – March 3, 2023 Artist opening reception Friday, February 3, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. For more information, please visit the Gallery ‘Iolani website: gallery.windward.hawaii.edu 
• Women Artists of Hawaii exhibit at Pauahi Tower Gallery, through March 11, 2023. A group of 15 invited artists that reflects a cross section of women artists currently working in Hawaiʻi: Emily Carl, Taylor Cobb, Carol D’Angelo, Jodi Endicott, Kris Goto, Christina May Ho, Denise Karabinus, Tamara Moan, Paula Nokes, Jessica Orfe, Wendy Roberts, Allison Roscoe, Laura Smith, Eileen Towata and Liz Train. Pauahi Tower Mezzanine Gallery,1003 Bishop Square (downtown Honolulu), Monday – Friday 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 
• University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Department of Art and Art History  
  • “ʻAi Pōhaku, Stone Eaters”, the first and largest iteration of the multi-site exhibition of Kānaka ʻŌiwi artists, portions of which will be on view throughout spring and summer 2023 at other college and university venues on Oʻahu. On view through March 26, 2023 in the Art Gallery. Weekly tours at 1 pm on Fridays and Sundays, artist discussions at 2 pm on Sundays. Learn more on the UHM Art and Art History website: hawaii.edu/art/ai-pohaku. 
  • “CCQL: David Salle x UHM”: “In this exhibition, David Salle has provided our intergenerational community of painters and drawers with an original work of art to elaborate on. We have copied the work fifteen times, on Arches paper; each resulting collaboration, starting from the same point, is a new work of art.” February 8 – March 2, 2023 at The Commons Gallery. Learn more on the UHM Art and Art History Department website: hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions-events-museum.
  • “Garakustashu: A Network for Modern Craft and Design” February – May 2023 at the John Young Museum of Art, University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa.  
  • “We Search for Peace” student-curated exhibit at the Commons Gallery through February 5, 2023. This is an exhibition of new work presented by the first and second year MFA students in the Department of Art & Art History: Enrico Battan, Rosie Connelly, Caroline Holmes, Mari Matsuda, Hala Megahy, Katharena Rentumis, Hiroko Sakurai, and Erik Sullivan. Learn more on the UHM Art and Art History Department website: hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions-events-museum. 
• University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa (UHM) Better Tomorrow Speaker Series: incisive conversations on the most important questions of our time. Learn more and register on the UHM website: manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers 
  • February 7, 2023: Robin Kimmerer, botanist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Her latest book, “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants” talks about our connection between life and efforts for a sustainable future. Hawaiʻi State Poet Laureate Brandy Nālani McDougall will open with a reading.
  • March 2, 2023: Ruth Ben-Ghiat, historian, MSNBC columnist, and author of “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present”. 
  • March 23, 2023: Mona Hanna-Attisha, author, activist, and pediatrician.  

This post was updated on February 9, 2023.