“Schaefer Portrait Challenge” and “Contemporary Portraiture: Art in Public Places” open Friday, January 2, 2026 in the second floor ʻEwa Gallery at Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum. Opening reception Friday evening during the free, all-ages First Friday event, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. An artist reception for the “Schaefer Portrait Challenge”, on loan from the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, will be held Saturday, January 3, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
About the Schaefer Portrait Challenge
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.
News release: SFCA-MACC Schaefer Portrait Challenge Media Release (Word)
About Contemporary Portraiture: Art in Public Places
This small selection of portraits from the Art in Public Places (APP) Collection highlights artworks that focus on the psychological, political, and spiritual aspects of their subjects. Including painting, drawing, print, fiber, sculpture, and photography, each artist’s approach to portraiture is as unique as the people (and sometimes dogs) they portray.
About the SFCA Art in Public Places Collection
Artworks from the SFCA’s Art in Public Places Collection are displayed in state government sites across Hawai‘i, including schools, libraries, and state office buildings. For over fifty years, the Art in Public Places Collection of the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts has been recognized as one of the most significant collections of contemporary art of Hawai‘i.
Explore the collection in the new SFCA online database at sfca.hawaii.gov/app-art and learn more about the public art program at sfca.hawaii.gov.