Arts and Culture Calendar (May 2023)

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. 

Highlights from this list were shared in the May 2023 SFCA email newsletter. To subscribe, scroll down to the bottom of this page.

• ARTS at Marks Garage “Maybe? Maybe Not.” Exhibit May 4-27, 2023 Opening reception Friday May 5, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. (First Friday); closing reception Friday may 26, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. For more information, please visit the ARTS at Marks website: artsatmarks.com/event-calendar.
• 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, “Aloha ‘Āina Art by Hawaiʻi’s Keiki and ʻŌpio” exhibit at Honolulu Hale, April 29 – May 19, 2023. Presented by Mele Murals, Wisdom Circles Oceania, and the Sierra Club with support by the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency. Learn more on the Honolulu MoCA website: HonoluluMOCA.org/current-exhibitions.
• First Hawaiian Center gallery at First Hawaiian Bank (downtown Honolulu) exhibit “Hawaiʻiā intersecting flows” Margo Ray, Jisoo Boggs, Carl F.K. Pao, on view April 16 – August 19, 2023.
• Garden Club of Honolulu “Oceans: Beyond the Reef” show at Honolulu Museum of Art, June 23-25. Last November, the annual Conservation Study Conference hosted by the Garden Club of America presented “Protecting Island Earth,” featuring cultural practitioners and scientists, such as Nainoa Thompson and Chipper Wichman, who shared the ancient Hawaiian practice of coaxing greater health and abundance from the ecosystem by adopting cultural values to improve scientific outcomes. This bio-cultural approach, which once allowed more than a million Native Hawaiians to live in abundance with limited resources over a thousand years, is being paired with modern science and technology in Hawai‘i and abroad to mitigate climate change and heal our planet. Segments from the virtual conference will be screened in the Doris Duke Theatre during the flower show. Learn more on the Honolulu Museum of Art website: HonoluluMuseum.org.
• 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: 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 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, 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 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 Women in Filmmaking Summer Reel Camps – filmmaking programs for girls and non-binary youth aged 12-19 years old. Animation: June 3 – 24. Basic Reel: July 10 – 21. Advanced Reel: July 24 – 28. For more information please visit the Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking website: HawaiiWomenInFilmmaking.org/reel-camps.
• Kahilu Theatre
  • “Bloom” Prince Dance Company May 6 (7:00 p.m.) and May 7 (4:00 p.m.). Told through theatre, dance, song, and aerial arts, this performance by the upper-level Prince Dance Institute students is enjoyable for all ages.
  • Robert Cazimero, May 13
  • Kamuela Philharmonic Pops Concert, May 21
  • Waimea Community Chorus Spring Concert, May 28
  • For more information and in-person tickets, please visit the Kahilu Theatre website: KahiluTheatre.org.
• Kamuela Philharmonic “Kona Pops!” concert, Sunday April 5, 5:30 p.m. at King’s Shops in Waikoloa. Free admission. Kamuela Philharmonic website: https://kamuelaphil.org/
• Leeward Community College (Pearl City, Oʻahu): the new Hōʻikeākea Gallery has opened and will showcase works from LCC students, faculty, and other artists. Learn more on the LCC Arts website (Leeward.hawaii.edu/the-arts). The first exhibition, “ʻAi Pōhaku, Stone Eaters”, pays homage to Hawaiian artists and culture bearers, and offers audiences an opportunity to form meaningful connections to their diverse work while ensuring that their story-telling, through art, is sustained in their ancestral homelands and abroad. Grand opening Saturday April 29, exhibit open through August 25, 2023.
• 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 “The Play That Goes Wrong” May 11-28; “The Chinese Lady” July 13-30. For more information, please visit the MVT website: ManoaValleyTheatre.com.
• Manoa Valley Theatre Open Mic Night Tuesday May 23, 7:00 p.m. 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.
• Wailoa Arts Center 2023 Exhibits (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island)
  • “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.
• University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Department of Art and Art History
  • “Emotional Identity” student-curated exhibit in the Commons Gallery, May 21 – July 2, 2023.
  • “Garakustashu: A Network for Modern Craft and Design” through May 2023 at the John Young Museum of Art, University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa.
  • “The Other Side” BFA exhibition, through May 7, 2023.
  • Learn more on the UHM Art and Art History Department website: hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions-events-museum.
• University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Department of Theatre and Dance Spring 2023 Dance Course Presentations, Monday May 1, 6:00 p.m. in the Dance building. This event features the end of semester course performances and presentations with dance courses and students. Free and open to the public.
• University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa (UHM) Better Tomorrow Speaker Series: incisive conversations on the most important questions of our time.
  • Nicholas Christakis, “Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society” Thursday May 18, 6:30 p.m., John A. Burns School of Medicine, MEB 315, Auditorium.
  • Alpin Hong, Thursday, May 25, 6:30 p.m. Orvis Auditorium, UHM Campus (details to be announced).
  • Julian Aguon, Indigenous human rights lawyer, Thursday, September 21, 2023 (details to be announced).
  • Learn more and register on the UHM website: manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers

This post was last updated on May 2, 2023.