Arts and Culture Calendar (March 2023)

March 2023 Arts and Culture Calendar

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.

• Art Maui Open House and Mixer (Wailuku) Sabado Studio Gallery Thursday March 9, 5-8 p.m. For details, please visit the Art Maui website: ArtMaui.org or email [email protected].
• Bishop Museum “Ola ka Noʻeau” exhibit, March 11 – October 29, 2023. Visitors will experience the reaffirming practice and artwork from a Native Hawaiian perspective throughout the gallery. Works on view will include examples of featherwork, barkcloth, tool-making, decorated gourds, visual design, and plaiting. For more information, please visit the Bishop Museum website: bishopmuseum.org/okn.
• Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) Prince Kūhiō Parade (Kapolei, Oʻahu), Saturday March 25, 5:30 p.m. For details, please visit the CNHA website: Hawaiiancouncil.org.
• 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.
• Downtown Art Center Creative Arts and Wellness Symposium March 19-31, 2023, promoting health and wellness through the arts. For more information please visit the DAC website: DowntownArtHI.org/artandwellness.
• 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 Festivals 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 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, 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 State Legislature Art at the Capitol, Friday April 14 The Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s annual Art at the Capitol event is scheduled for Friday, April 14, 4:30 – 7:00 p.m. Participating offices will stay open for the evening and visitors can pick up a guidebook to SFCA Art in Public Places Collection artworks currently installed at the Capitol.
• 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 .
• 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 Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, “ʻI ka ʻŌlelo ke Ola / There is Life in Language”, through March 17, 2023 at Honolulu Hale. For more information, please visit the Honolulu MOCA website: HonoluluMOCA.org/current-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) 2023 Spring Show at the KSA Gallery, Kukui Grove Center. March 4 – 31, 2023. For more information, please visit the KSA website: KauaiSocietyOfArtists.org.
• Kipaipai Workshops at Donkey Mill Art Center (Holualoa, Hawaiʻi Island) June 2-4, 2023. This special program at the Donkey Mill Art Center in beautiful Holualoa, Hawai’i will focus on professional practices in areas of gallery representation and museum exhibitions, self-promotion, use of social media in promotion, the importance of relevant critical writing, presentation, and identifying and strategizing personal/professional goals. 16 participants will be selected by our Jury of professionals for a two-day workshop focused on best professional practices in the creative industry. Applications due March 21, 2023. For more information and to apply, please visit the Kipaipai website: kipaipai.com.
• 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.
• Loʻi Gallery at American Savings Bank (downtown Honolulu) featuring Cameron Brooks, Saumolia Puapuaga, Spencer Chang, and Stephen Yuen through May 2023. Learn more about the exhibit and how to showcase your art in the Loʻi Gallery on the American Savings Bank Hawaiʻi website: asbhawaii.com/loigallery.
• 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.
• 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)
  • “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 concerts Sunday April 2 and April 30 at Hale Hālāwai on Aliʻi Drive in Kailua-Kona. This concert series is brought to you in part by the County of Hawai’i Parks and Recreation Department and the West Hawai‘i County Band Friends. http://www.westhawaiiband.com/
• Windward Community College: Gallery ‘Iolani “Listening for a Heartbeat: A Retrospective of Works by Emily McIlroy” through March 3, 2023. 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. 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.” Through 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” through May 2023 at the John Young Museum of Art, University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa.
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Robin Wall Kimmerer video recording now available. Includes poetry readings by Noʻu Revilla, Donovan Kūhiō Colleps, ʻIhilani Lasconia and Hawaiʻi State Poet Brandy Nālani McDougall. February 7, 2023: Robin Wall 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. Watch the presentation on YouTube: YouTube.com/live/8UWMeEFGMk4.

This post was updated on March 10, 2023.