Hawaii State Foundation On Culture and The Arts JUNE 2025 Newsletter

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Hawaii State Foundation On Culture and The Arts JUNE 2025 Newsletter
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State Foundation on Culture and the Arts JUNE 2025 Newsletter

June 2025
U.S. Regional Arts Organizations Joint Statement on the National Endowment for the Arts
“On Friday [May 2, 2025], many active and pending grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) were abruptly terminated. This comes alongside the administration’s proposal to eliminate the NEA entirely in the FY26 federal budget.” - U.S. Regional Arts Organizations Joint Statement on the National Endowment for the Arts

The U.S. Regional Arts Organization has resources for current NEA grantees and tips on advocacy for arts and culture supporters, including nonpartisan templates for contacting your Senators and Representatives and a list of national campaigns. Learn more at USRegionalArts.org/nea-joint-statement.

SFCA Arts Education Programs

Hawaiʻi Open Arts Spotlight: Waiāhole Elementary School

Shirley Lam, Capitol Modern Museum Education Coordinator, attended the Wai Fest at Windward Mall earlier this month, which included 2nd and 3rd graders from Waiāhole Elementary (Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu) giving presentations on what they learned through the SFCA Hawaiʻi Open Arts education program. Each student had a presentation to share with the public, with topics including invasive and native species, limu, impact on storm drains, and how humans impact the ʻāina to the water cycle. The human impact presentation included a game that was also a quiz.

Hawaiʻi Open Arts (HŌʻĀ) is moving out of the pilot program phase and expanding to additional schools. Learn more about the program on the HŌʻĀ website: www.HawaiiOpenArts.org.

Photos: top, student with water cycle presentation (faces blurred for privacy). Bottom, a fishpond diorama by one of the students.

SFCA Hawaiʻi Open Arts

SFCA Artists in the Schools Spotlight: Keaʻau High School

Keaʻau High School (Hawaiʻi Island) special education students had an SFCA Artists in the Schools residency with SFCA Artistic Teaching Partner Lisa Louise Adams.

A classroom teacher reported that “I enjoy seeing students who don’t believe they are great artists do amazing work. I love seeing the confidence of the students grow. This program helps me see that all our students are capable of doing so much more than I realize at times.”

Students were asked why art making was important to them. Responses included “It takes away pain”, “I can become more skilled”, and “It helps me think.”

Photo: artworks done by students during the residency.

SFCA Artists in the Schools

Capitol Modern

June events at Capitol Modern

•   Lōʻihi Records listening party Saturday May 31, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. “Hoʻololi takes the listener on a journey through Flotesonʻs lush minimalist landscape, marrying gospel themes and the formal structures of Tōru Takemitsu with treated guitars, e-bow, bass and a Korg Minilogue XD.”

•   First Friday, Friday June 6, 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. Free all-ages live music and urban market event. Museum galleries will be open.

•   Friday Night Tempo, June 21, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. Free all-ages live music and urban market. Museum galleries will be open.

•   Museum calendar: CapitolModern.org/events
Are you subscribed to the Capitol Modern email newsletter? Subscribe or update your information: Capitol Modern email newsletter signup.

CapitolModern.org
Arts & Culture Opportunities

Image: promotional graphic for the 15th Annual Abstract Only! exhibition
A list of federal, state, and other arts and culture calls for artists. Questions regarding a particular opportunity should be directed to the organization listed with the opportunity. Inclusion here should not be interpreted as an endorsement.

•   15th Annual Abstract Only! call for artists. Entries due July 1, 2025. This year the exhibition features an exchange with the Shanghai Abstract Artists Association (SAAA). For more information, please go to the CallForEntry.org posting: Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance 15th Annual Abstract Only! call for artists.

•   Artist of the Month: Art Maui has started a new spot for Maui County artists on their website and monthly newsletter. Learn more on their website, ArtMaui.org.

•   Indigenous Initiative Research Fund from the Oral History Association supports an Indigenous oral historian conducting Indigenous community-based oral history research. Submissions due by June 1, 2025. For more information, please go to oralhistory.org/award.

•   Call for student artists: “Trees for Honolulu’s Future”, Hawaiʻi students grades K-8. Email ArtContest@TreesForHonolulu.org to be notified when the 9th annual contest is announced this summer.

•   East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center “36 Views of Mauna Loa” open call for artists January 1 - 31, 2026. Learn more on the EHCC website: ehcc.org/opencall/36views.

•   Aloha Stadium call for artists public art contest to imagine and transform pieces of the original corrugated metal field wall into a sculpture or wall installation. Concept submissions due by June 6, 2025. Additional information and contact form on the State of Hawaiʻi Aloha Stadium website: AlohaStadium.hawaii.gov/main/legacywall.

•   MidSummer Art Celebration Call for Artists, Wailoa Center (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island). Entries due by Friday, June 6. Exhibit July 5 – 24. For additional information and to submit entries, please visit the CallForEntry.org posting: Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance MidSummer Art Celebration Call for Artists.

•   First People’s Fund 2026 Native Performing Arts Live Production Grant open through June 18, 2025. For more information, please visit the First People’s Fund website: FirstPeoplesFund.org/programs/native-performing-arts-program.

•   HOIHI Grant Program for Native Hawaiian Organizations: Department of Interior Business Center HOIHI Grant Program for Native Hawaiian Organizations has as its purpose to establish a more inclusive national travel and tourism strategy that delivers significant benefits for Native Hawaiian organizations (NHO) as distinctly defined in the NATIVE Act, including job creation, elevated living standards, and expanded economic opportunities. (Posted – April 8, 2025 - June 9, 2025 deadline). For more information: www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/358647.

•   Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Marketing Service - Local Food Promotion Program Fiscal Year 2025 funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on: Supporting the processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products that are marketed locally or regionally, including value-added agricultural products. 320 awards are expected. (Posted May 9, 2025 – June 27, 2025 deadline). For more information: www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/358907.

•   Call for artists: Honouliuli Plans for 10 Year Remembrance of Internment in Hawaiʻi. Calling all artists to be part of an Art Exhibit planned for January for this remembrance. Each month the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai`i plans events to learn more. Many people in the interment camp turned to art as a way to endure the unbearable with dignity and patience – “Gaman”. How will artists today respond? nps.gov/hono/getinvolved/10th-anniversary-celebration.htm.   

Arts & Culture Events

Graphic: “Lauhala: Weaving Knowledge and Practice” exhibition flyer. The exhibit is open at Wailoa Center through June 19, 2025.
This arts and culture calendar features SFCA grantees, partners, and Hawaiʻi state and local government programs and events. Questions regarding a particular program or event should be directed to the organization listed with the opportunity. Inclusion here should not be interpreted as an endorsement.

•   “Lauhala: Weaving Knowledge and Practice” exhibit at Wailoa Center (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island), through June 19, 2025. For more information, please visit the Wailoa Center exhibitions page: WailoaCenter.com/exhibitions-1. An SFCA Art Acquisition Selection Committee (AASC) has visited the exhibit and nominated four artworks.

•   Asia Pacific Dance Festival at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa events this weekend: Talk Story with dance groups and artists, Saturday May 31, 6:45 p.m. outside the Kennedy Theatre, free and open to the public. ʻIke Hana I concert, 7:30 p.m. Sunday June 1, ʻIke Hana Concert II at 2:00 p.m., Talk Story at 3:30 p.m. For more information and to purchase concert tickets, please go to the Asia Pacific Dance Festival website: manoa.hawaii.edu/outreach/asiapacificdance/2025-festival-events. Supported in part by public funding from the SFCA.

•   HT25 Closing Celebration at Davies Pacific Center, Saturday May 31, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For details and to RSVP: ht25programs.eventcalendarapp.com/u/54928/381176. Supported in part by public funding from the SFCA.

•   Chamber Music Hawaiʻi free concert with The Spring Winds Quintet at Nānākuli Public Library (Oʻahu), Monday June 16, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. For more information, please visit the Chamber Music Hawaiʻi website: ChamberMusicHawaii.org/concert/spring-wind-quintet-nanakuli-public-library.

•   Honolulu Botanical Gardens 2025 Twilight Concert Series, free concerts at botanical gardens in Honolulu in June and July. For the full schedule, please go to the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation online events and classes calendar: honolulu.gov/dpr/honolulu-botanical-gardens/events-and-classes.

•   “Franco Salmoiraghi: Photographs of Hawaiʻi from the 70s, 80s, and 90s” at the Honolulu Museum of Art, through October 12, 2025. For more information, please visit the HoMA website: HonoluluMuseum.org/pQ4Q2sY/franco-salmoiraghi--photographs-of-hawai-i-from-the-70s--80s--and-90s.

•   University of Hawaiʻi Insect Museum: outreach event at Patagonia Store, Ward Avenue (Honolulu), July 26, 2025. Artist are invited to showcase their art related to insects. To learn more and participate, please contact Sandra Schachat by email at SSchachat@schmidtsciencefellows.org.

•   Hawaiʻi Public Radio “Hawaiʻi Radio Hour” broadcasting from Kahilu Theatre, Sundays at 4:00 p.m. starting June first on HPR-1. Conversations, moʻolelo, and mele.

•   “Kim’s Convenience” comedy-drama play at Mānoa Valley Theatre, May 15 - June 8, 2025. Supported in part by public funding from the SFCA.

•   Night/Shift: this quarterly Shangri La at Capitol Modern event returns June 6. Follow Shangri La on Instagram for updates: @HI_ShangriLa.
Find more arts and culture events on the SFCA website: June 2025 Arts and Culture Events.

Find exhibits and events on the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s Go Hawaiʻi calendar
The Go Hawaiʻi event calendars provide information about cultural performances, stage shows, musical events, and art exhibits. The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority reviews each event submission and requires that the events is open to the public and “of interest to visitors”.

•   Hawaiʻi Island: gohawaii.com/islands/hawaii-big-island/events

•   Kauaʻi: gohawaii.com/islands/kauai/events

•   Lanaʻi: gohawaii.com/islands/lanai/events

•   Maui: gohawaii.com/islands/maui/events

•   Molokaʻi: gohawaii.com/islands/molokai/events

•   Oʻahu: gohawaii.com/islands/oahu/events
Listing an event is free! Interested event hosts and organizations can learn more on the GoHawaii website: gohawaii.com/events/submit.

SFCA Board of Commissioners

Photo: Mary M. Mitsuda, “Island Manuscript” acrylic on canvas painting, 2023. Currently on display at Honolulu Community College. Island Manuscript was inspired by old maps and manuscripts, and the various stories these artifacts suggest. Mitsuda states, "horizontal and vertical stripes are probably the most basic marks made, yet they can suggest many things: The horizon, earth, water, fire, sky, trees, people, buildings, planks. I like the way a mixture of bands can suggest simultaneous images, somewhat like the thought process.” Mitsuda holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
⁠
SFCA Board approves eleven artwork purchases and two exhibit visits
The SFCA Board of Commissioners approved eleven artwork purchases and two exhibit visits at the March 12, 2025 Art in Public Places committee meeting.

Approved exhibit visits

•   “Living Sovereign, a solo exhibition by Mealoha Bishop” at Aupuni Space (Honolulu), May 3 - 31, 2025.

•   “Lauhala: Weaving Knowledge and Practice” at Wailoa Center (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island), May 9 - June 19, 2025.

•   Recent purchases and gifts are listed on the SFCA website: sfca.hawaii.gov/art-in-public-places-program/#recent-adds.

•   Approved exhibit visits are also posted to the SFCA website: sfca.hawaii.gov/art-in-public-places-program/#aasc-visits.

Graphic: detail from “Waimea Canyon”, oil painting by John Young, 1991. SFCA Art in Public Places Collection. Currently on display in the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education, Kauaʻi District Office. John Young (1909-1997) was born in Honolulu. Largely self-taught, he learned calligraphy and brush painting at Chinese language school and produced his first oils at 18. Young used a brush and palette knife to create the lava formations and foliage of Waimea Canyon. "I want to give the entire canyon a feeling of great depth--create a sense of tranquility and a misty luminous light on the canvas."

Upcoming SFCA Board of Commissioners Meetings

•   Friday, August 22, 2025: General Meeting (Kauaʻi)

•   Friday, November 21, 2025: General Meeting

•   Friday February 27, 2026: General Meeting

•   Friday, June 5, 2026: General Meeting
Decisions about grants, artwork purchases, and more are made by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) Board of Commissioners. Meetings are currently being held in-person at the No. 1 Capitol District Building and virtually on Zoom. The public is invited to attend.

Appointed by the state governor, the Board of Commissioners oversees the Executive Director, provides input, and approves spending. Commissioners are volunteers and do not receive compensation for their duties.

Individuals may submit written testimony on posted agenda items in advance of the meeting via email to Rhiannon.MK.Keene@hawaii.gov or by mail addressed to the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, 250 South Hotel Street, 2nd Floor, Honolulu, HI 96813. Individuals interested in signing up to provide oral testimony on posted agenda items at the meeting may submit their name, email, and phone number to Rhiannon.MK.Keene@hawaii.gov.

Agenda items for General Meetings may include approval of artwork acquisition recommendations and Acquisition Award Selection Committee (AASC) art exhibit visit recommendations.

Agendas and minutes are also posted on the SFCA Board of Commissioners page.

SFCA Office
The SFCA office is open by appointment. SFCA is operating in a hybrid model of teleworking where all staff are available by email or telephone. If you aren’t sure who to contact, email HawaiiSFCA@hawaii.gov or call (808) 586-0300 and leave a voice message, including your name and telephone number.

Copyright (C) 2025 Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. All rights reserved.
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The mission of the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts is to promote, perpetuate, preserve and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawai‘i. HSFCA funding is provided by the State of Hawai‘i and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hawaii State Art Museum

The Hawai'i State Art Museum is dedicated to presenting the largest and finest collection of works by Hawai'i artists that celebrate the diverse artistic and cultural legacy of Hawai'i.

OUR MISSION
To promote, perpetuate, preserve and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawai`i. HSFCA funding is provided by the State of Hawai`i and the National Endowment for the Arts. The HSFCA is administratively attached to the Department of Accounting and General Services.

HOURS:
The musuem is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed State and Federal Holdays. Always free admission. For pre-recorded information call 586-0900.

The Hawai'i State Art Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For pre-recorded summary information on the museum, call (808) 586-0900. For current museum program information, call the HSFCA Art in Public Places Program at (808) 586-0305. To arrange an educational tour of the museum, call (808) 586-9958.

For information on the HSFCA; the Hawai'i State Art Museum; HSFCA grants, programs, and services; Hawai'i arts and culture events; and USA and worldwide arts opportunities, visit the HSFCA website, www.hawaii.gov/sfca.

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Hawaii State Foundation On Culture and The Arts JUNE 2025 Newsletter

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