Honolulu, HI

The Honolulu project is led by Puʻuhonua Society, a Hawaiian-values based community arts organization, in relationship with Kānaka ʻŌiwi or ‘Native Hawaiian’ artists and cultural bearers. They’re creating Hōʻeu Mana, place-based and community gatherings centered on reawakening ancestral stories rooted in Hawaiʻi.

This work begins by bringing to life old stories of Kou or what is now known as downtown Honolulu through photography depicting wāhine akua or 'female goddesses/guardians,' songs of place, and food from the land and sea. Opening on September 1st, 2023 at Arts & Letters Nuʻuanu this community gathering marks the start of multiple artist-led community collaborations taking place through July 27th, 2024 and culminating in a return to Thomas Square, the site of the restoration of Hawaiʻi’s sovereignty in 1843. This day will celebrate community-created works while also sharing a space of creation in-real-time through mediums highlighting materials of place including pandanus weaving, bamboo stamping, multimedia, and various other practices that have remained and evolved despite it all.