LAHAINA
Currently, our work in Lahaina includes the following projects:
MAUI STRONG
In December 2023, we unveiled “Maui Strong,” a 1,000-foot mesh barrier fence installed along a perimeter of the Lahaina burn zone, showcasing the artistic talents of 600 students who dedicated their creative efforts to convey resilience amid the August Maui wildfires.
Following the success of our Sticker Buffet activities with Lahaina Intermediate School, Baldwin High School, Pōmaikaʻi Elementary School, ʻĪao Intermediate School and Maui Waena Intermediate School - which generated hundreds of "Maui Strong"-inspired student artworks - we were granted an HCF Maui Strong grant to transform the student designs into temporary fencing and install it along a perimeter of the Lahaina burn zone. We believe this artwork installation will serve as a symbol of resilience, unity, and the promise of a brighter future amidst challenging times while simultaneously safeguarding individuals from the elements and potential hazards of the cleanup site. Students are actively contributing to their community by creating meaningful artwork that is displayed prominently, fostering a sense of pride and ownership. Further, the barrier fence will become a reminder for visitors of the area to act with respect as our community grieves and heals, further enriching their experience on the island. |
ARTS & RESILIENCE EVENT
In November 2023, we produced the Arts & Resilience event on the Great Lawn of the University of Hawaiʻi-Maui College Campus. Offering resource tables by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s Kākoʻo Maui Resource Hub, a pop-in artmaking activity with Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center, shared storytelling on stage and a hands-on mural exercise with UH Faculty Michael Takemoto and Marc Antosch, the event's headline feature was a collaborative performance by Adaptations Dance Theater and musician Stephen Henderson inspired by a Hui Mo‘olelo recording with Aunty Sally Ann Delos Reyes of Lahaina. More than 100 community members participated, many leaving with a complex emotion of refuge, sadness, and hope; in catharsis – an emotional cleansing of the soul. (View 6-min documentary HERE).
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LAHAINA RECIPE PROJECT
Following the August 2023 wildfires, several groups and individuals reached out to request our Hui Mo‘olelo workshop and story recording process as a way to process the experience. We crafted a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) tutorial featuring links and excerpts from kumu Leilehua Yuen's 3-part workshop series for interested community members. Amongst those that chose to participate in this new way, we were delighted to meet Jennifer Freeland, who asked to interview her father Burt. Burt's grandfather built the Pioneer Inn in 1901 in the Lahaina Historic District. We are honored to share their story HERE.
During a brainstorm session with our Youth Task Force, we drew up a plan to collect Lahaina-based recipes as a potential catalyst for Lahaina-based Hui Mo‘olelo participants. As we envisioned the epitome of a family recipe -- handwritten on an index card with torn edges and a food stain or ten, our thoughts zipped to the stories that live therein. Where did you cultivate the ingredients? Who taught you to prepare it? On what occasion do you serve it? Whose favorite is it? In the process of creating a public domain resource of Lahaina recipes, we could very well find our next cohort and the kūpuna that need to be asked: what are the people, places and stories that make Lahaina Lahaina? |