The Wailoa Art Center in Hilo is proud will present “Hala,” an exhibition celebrating the cultural significance and ecological importance of the hala plant (Pandanus tectorius) in Hawaii.
The exhibition will run from May 10 through June 19, An opening reception will be from 5 p.m.to 7 p.m. on May 9 with a performance by Halau Hula Kauluola. This collaborative project brings together contemporary artists, cultural practitioners, natural resource managers, and scientists to envision hopeful futures embracing both ecological and cultural resilience.
Featured artists and practitioners include Marques Marzan, Sean Connelly, Yola Monakhov Stockton, Carl F K Pao, Corinne Okada Takara, Duncan Ka‘oho Seto, Gloria-Ann Pualani Muraki, Dee Shimabukuro, Debbie Toko, Mei Lin Wong-Gary, Lise Michelle Childers, Ku Kahakalau, Justin Kellum, Mia Akau-LaClair and Kelly Teamey.
Curated by Kanani Daley, Mary Babcock and Udi Mandel, “Hala” is the result of a 14-month collaborative project supported by USGS, PI-CASC, the Hawaii Council for the Humanities, the Craft Research Center and other local organizations.
The exhibition invites the public to experience hala through multiple perspectives, honoring both tradition and innovation.
“Hala” embraces the Hawaiian concept of makawalu — understanding phenomena from multiple perspectives — by weaving together diverse disciplines including botany, geography, anthropology, and indigenous knowledge. The exhibition centers on the hala plant, which has been integral to traditional Hawaiian material culture and cosmology for generations.
“This exhibition represents a creative encounter between different worldviews, opening doors to other ways of relating to and understanding hala,” said Daley, a Native Hawaiian designer, artist and curator. “Throughout our 14-month collaborative process, we constantly asked ourselves: ‘What does hala want?’”
During the exhibit, Wailoa Center will be open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 pm.
There will be free guided gallery walks with exhibition participants from 10 a.m. to noon on May 17, 24 and 31, and a lauhala bracelet weaving workshop from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 31.
To register for the workshop, call Wailoa Center at (808) 933-0416.
The lauhala weaving club, ‘Aha Puhala o Puna, also will be holding its regular meetings on May 10 and June 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for those that want to observe the process of lauhala weaving.
Wailoa Center is a Division of State Parks. It is free and open to the public during the exhibit, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
