A $25,000 award from the National Endowment for the Arts to the East Hawaii Cultural Center will support a permanent, year-round gallery, Ola Na Iwi, that showcases Native Hawaiian and Pacific contemporary artists.
“Projects like Ola Na Iwi exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities — all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson in a press release. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and well-being, infrastructure and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
“We are thrilled to receive this grant,” EHCC Executive Director Laurie Rich said in the press release. “The Ola Na Iwi gallery is a project that EHCC has endeavored to accomplish for years, and with NEA funding, we are able to see a dream realized. It is important to our mission and values to have this kind of representation in our community.”
Ola Na Iwi is an exhibition space honoring the work of Indigenous and Native Oceania artists. It will be a permanent part of the established art gallery at EHCC, which serves local residents and tourists alike.
By focusing on contemporary art, it will offer a modern context for past history and showcase what living Indigenous artists and cultural practitioners are doing in today’s environment.
At the same time artists interpret ancient stories, they will draw awareness to issues facing Indigenous people now, such as climate change, which affects the fishing and crops of Pacific people, and invasive species, which destroy the natural landscape and environment of their native homes.
Contemporary works will explore decolonization, indigenization and cultural contradictions aboriginal peoples face within modern society.
All exhibitions will be in the Hawaiian language with English translations.
For more information about other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.