This news release was emailed to local media and state legislators on December 30, 2025.
The Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, with Maui Arts & Cultural Center and Schaefer International Gallery, announce the SCHAEFER PORTRAIT CHALLENGE EXHIBIT at CAPITOL MODERN: THE HAWAIʻI STATE ART MUSEUM
Honolulu, HAWAIʻI – The Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) and Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC) announces the opening of the Schaefer Portrait Challenge exhibit at Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum in downtown Honolulu. Previously exhibited at the MACC’s Schaefer International Gallery, the eighth edition of this portrait competition has traveled to Oʻahu.
The State Art Museum will show a selection of portraits from the SFCA Art in Public Places Collection alongside the Schaefer Portrait Challenge exhibit.
A signature of the MACC’s Schaefer International Gallery, this statewide juried exhibition features a selection of 40 portraits from five islands, showcasing the unique diversity of Hawai‘i’s people. The exhibition was selected through a competitive process by jurors Sonnet Coggins, Mina Elison, and Wendy Kawabata and includes three substantial cash awards that recognize outstanding accomplishments: the Jurors’ Choice Award, the Gene Freedman Artists’ Choice Award, and the Ruth Freedman People’s Choice Award.
Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum is open Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. The galleries are also open the first and third Friday of the month in the evening from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. during the free, all-ages live music events.
The artists selected to participate in Schaefer Portrait Challenge 2025 are Adare, Neida B. Bangerter, Arnold Bornios, Mike Carroll, Jodie Chock, Eddie Flotte, Ingrid Frégeau, Jett Green, Barclay Hill, Jon Hunt, Ildiko Istvan, Joyce Jeffers, Eduardo Joaquin, MinChong Kim, Jairus Kiyabu, Gloria Kniazky, Kirk Kurokawa, Lynn Weiler Liverton, Charles Lowrie, Richie Lucero, Laurna Malkovich, Ethel Mann, Deborah Masterson, Rachel Melander, Patrick Mizumoto, Penny Nichols, Jennifer Owen, Camille Izumi Page, Challys Pascual, Abbie Rabinowitz, Mona Rinaldo, Nichol Ann Robinson, Wendy Romanchak, Joyce Schaunaman, Sakiko Shinkai, Damian Smith, Kathleen Storm, Eve Teraoka, Devi Town, and Albert Weight. Overall, the selection of 40 portraits from across Hawaiʻi represents 16 artists from Maui, 12 from Oʻahu, 7 from Hawaiʻi Island, 4 from Kauaʻi, and 1 from Lānaʻi.
Schaefer Portrait Challenge is a statewide juried exhibition that has been held triennially since 2003, encouraging Hawai‘i artists to present the people of their island communities through explorations in portraiture. This exhibition features the carefully selected entries of artists whose work best captures Hawai‘i’s extraordinary portrait subjects. The exhibition was organized by Maui Arts & Cultural Center and supported by the Eugene and Ruth Freedman Family Foundation and Carolyn Schaefer. The exhibition at Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum is supported in part by public funding through the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
Public Events:
First Friday at Capitol Modern
Friday, January 2 from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Museum galleries are open during the free, all-ages First Friday event. Live music with Party Foul and DJ720 in the outdoor Sculpture Garden, Art+Flea urban market, and food and beverage vendors. Exhibit opening reception starts at 6:00 p.m. in the second floor Sculpture Lobby.
Artist Reception at Capitol Modern
Saturday, January 3 from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. with remarks at 1:00 p.m.
Meet artists featured in the “Schaefer Portrait Challenge” exhibit and “Contemporary Portraiture: Art in Public Places” exhibit. Free, all ages welcome.
Island Pulse
Friday, January 16 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Museum galleries are open during the free, all-ages Island Pulse roots and reggae night. Live music in the outdoor Sculpture Garden, Art+Flea urban market, and food and beverage vendors.
Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum
250 South Hotel Street, Second Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Website: CapitolModern.org
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 808-586-0900
Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Free admission
About Schaefer Portrait Challenge
Schaefer Portrait Challenge (SPC) is a triennial statewide juried art exhibition, and a signature exhibition of Schaefer International Gallery at Maui Arts & Cultural Center (The MACC), featuring artists from throughout Hawai‘i and portraits of subjects who have distinguished themselves in the eyes of the artist. Portrait subjects have included people well-known in their island communities, subjects with close personal or familial connections, and self-portraits. The MACC works closely with local arts organizations on each island to ensure a statewide community-based effort.
The origins of Schaefer Portrait Challenge date back to 2000, when a group of visual arts professionals from across Hawai‘i gathered at the MACC to develop and shape an exhibition that would help revive interest in portraiture to present the unique diversity of the people of our islands. The principal coordinator in 2003 was Tom Klobe, a teacher and exhibit designer from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. The exhibit became a reality after several years of discussions and planning, with funding support to underwrite the exhibition.
The Schaefer Portrait Challenge has been held in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022, and 2025. The 2025 exhibit will also be shown on Oʻahu at Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum from January 2 – July 4 2026. Capitol Modern is open Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.
IMAGES: Schaefer Portrait Challenge
Media Contacts
State Foundation on Culture and the Arts / Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum
Contact: Mamiko Carroll
Public Information Program
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 808-586-0305
Maui Arts & Cultural Center
Contact: Ruby Hernandez, Marketing Director
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 808-243-4232