HCF Supports 2010 Artist in Residence Program

Hui No‘eau is pleased to announce its Summer 2010 Artist in Residence program, made possible by a recent grant through Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund.

In a jointly developed month-long program, Oakland, CA-based Favianna Rodriguez and Jersey City, NJ-based Orlando Reyes will present “The Politics of Paper/ Many Stories, Many Voices,” a case study about how artists can collaborate with non-arts community groups to develop messages around social justice. Program elements include building relationships with fellow HI-based nonprofit organizations to identify a socially relevant topic that will inspire hands-on visual arts workshops, panel discussions, professional development for Hawaii-based artists and classroom teachers, and a culminating 6-week public exhibition.

About the Artists:
Named by UTNE Magazine as a “leading visionary artist” in the United States, artist /author/entrepreneur Favianna Rodriguez is renown for her vibrant posters dealing with social issues as well as her leadership in establishing innovative institutions that promote equality and engage new audiences in the arts. As President and co-fonder of design firm Tumis, Rodriguez travels extensively to consult with organizations interested in using visual communications and new technologies to promote community building and social change. In 2003, Rodriguez co-founded the Taller Tupac Amaru printing studio to foster resurgence in the screen-printing medium. She is co-founder of the EastSide Arts Alliance (ESAA), a cultural institution dedicated to training young artists in the tradition of arts activism. Rodriguez has lectured widely on the use of art in political engagement and the work of artists who, like herself, are bridging the community and museum, the local and international. She has worked closely with artists in Mexico, Europe, and Japan and has exhibited at Museo del Barrio (New York); de Young Museum (San Francisco); Mexican Fine Arts Center (Chicago); Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco); and internationally at the House of Love & Dissent (Rome), Parco Museum (Tokyo), as well as in England, Belgium, and Mexico. Her artwork also appears in The Design of Dissent (Rockport Publishers, 2006), Peace Signs: The Anti-War Movement Illustrated (Edition Olms, 2004), and The Triumph of Our Communities: Four Decades of Mexican Art (Bilingual Review Press, 2005).

Founding Director of the critically acclaimed Jersey City-based 58 Gallery, painter, curator and arts entrepreneur Orlando Reyes has produced solo shows and private commissions in fine art metropolises, including Copenhagen, Brussels, Paris, and Florence. A centerpiece in the New Jersey/New York contemporary art scene, the 58 Gallery has hosted over 200 artists in more than 200 shows with the primary focus of filling the gap created by the elitism of the New York art market, prioritizing creativity and innovation. An early exposure to large-scale public painting via graffiti led Reyes to pursue two apprenticeships under established fine art painters in 1983, offering such techniques as Flemish oil painting and the color theory of Matisse. In 1988, Reyes took his art to a public realm as he helped launch a series of socially engaged, street-based art campaigns around controversial issues such as AIDS, art censorship, and the corporate irresponsibility. As he became more immersed with the mastery of painting, Reyes left the U.S. and headed to Jamaica to pursue an artist in residence in the study of impressionism, landscape painting, and light manipulation. His love for and mastery of color and pigment eventually led him into an abstract and non-linear approach, culminating in the complete abandonment of brushes. Reyes’ present day painting approach incorporates the use of eyedroppers as a way of pursuing an organic, pigment-centered style. His cultural, urban, and nomadic roots resonate throughout his art. Reyes’ work continues to be exhibited in galleries, museums and in public, both nationally and internationally.

Visit us online at www.huinoeau.com soon for developing program information & details. In the meantime, mark your calendars with the following program dates:

Teen Intensive Workshop with Favianna Rodriguez
Monday, July 12 – Thursday, July 15 (10 am – 2 pm)

Portfolio Review Sessions with Favianna Rodriguez
Friday, July 16 (10 am – 2 pm)

Free slide lecture and panel discussion with Favianna Rodriguez & community collaborators (TBD)
Friday, July 16 (6 pm – 8 pm)

Adult Intensive Workshop with Favianna Rodriguez
Monday, July 19 – Wednesday, July 21 (9 am – 1 pm)

“Teach the Teachers” with Favianna Rodriguez
Thursday, July 22 (10 am – 4 pm)

Teen Intensive Workshop with Orlando Reyes
Monday, July 19 – Thursday, July 22 (10 am – 2 pm)

Portfolio Review Sessions with Orlando Reyes
Friday, July 23 (10 am – 2 pm)

Free slide lecture and panel discussion with Orlando Reyes & community collaborators (TBD)
Friday, July 23 (6 pm – 8 pm)

Adult Intensive Workshop with Orlando Reyes
Monday, July 26 – Wednesday, July 28 (9 am – 1 pm)

“Teach the Teachers” with Orlando Reyes
Thursday, July 29 (10 am – 4 pm)

The Politics of Paper/ Many Stories, Many Voices Exhibition
Featuring work by the artists and their students
Friday, August 6 – Thursday, September 16

The Hui wishes to extend its deepest gratitude to the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund for supporting this exciting program. We look forward to seeing you this summer as we partake of this extraordinary experience!

Hui Partners with Kalama Intermediate in Preparation of 25th Anniversary

Tuesday, March 9th will mark a very special day for 50 7th grade Kalama students, volunteers and members of the Hui No‘eau youth outreach team as the last coat of paint is applied to a set of murals that have been 2 months in the making.

In recognition of Kalama Intermediate’s 25th anniversary, Principal John Costales and Classroom Teacher Marilyn Morikawa approached the Hui to brainstorm on ways to celebrate the cultural diversity and history of the school. A project entitled “We All Belong,” was developed over the course of several months of planning between Kalama and Hui No‘eau Children’s Program Coordinator Kelly McHugh. Over the course of 15 in-school visits, 2 classes of students became responsible for the planning, development and implementation of 2 large-scale murals on the grounds of the school, led by Morikawa and Hui teaching artist Nathalie Nunez.

“Marilyn has been such a supportive partner,” says Nunez, “we were both able to lend our individual strengths to the project and, together, found ways to incorporate a piece of every students’ individuality and creativity in the final pieces.” When asked about working on the grounds she says, “We have crowds of students who are in recess watching everything we are up to, many want to help that are not presently part of the program. There are lots of kids who want to sign up for art classes after seeing what they are capable of doing.”

The project was made possible by individual donations through the Hui’s “Raise the Paddle” auction at both the 2009 and 2010 Art Affair benefits, as well as the gracious support of Jim Sanders of Jim Sanders Reality, Inc. “We feel very fortunate to be able to work at this scale in our community,” says Hui Executive Director Caroline Killhour, “By continuing to raise these vital outreach funds, we are able to offer scholarships, supplies and the guidance of high-caliber artists that help enable access to the visual arts to every interested child across Maui.”

"What an incredible collaboration to help celebrate our 25th anniversary!” remarks Morikawa, “ the Hui team's expertise and enthusiasm has driven this project from idea to synthesis to production- my students and I have learned so much. Thank you, Nathalie and Hui No‘eau, for your contribution to Kalama Intermediate School."

The murals will be unveiled during the school’s "25 Years – We All Belong" Celebration, scheduled for the morning May 8th, ad will also include a blessing, entertainment and presentation of the Kalama Anniversary Quilt.

Art Affair: The Bourbon Street Ball

On the evening of Saturday, February 27, Hui No`eau celebrated our 18th annual Art Affair to the theme of “The Bourbon Street Ball.” The potential tsunami earlier in the day did not dampen spirits at the Kaluanui estate; over two hundred attendees created a wave of enthusiasm for the arts, raising vital funds in support of the Hui.

Dressed in their most festive jazz and Mardi Gras attire, artists and community supporters enjoyed delicious Cajun cuisine by Bev Gannon’s Celebrations Catering, live Dixieland Jazz by Raw Silk featuring Kelly Covington and Fulton Tashombe, live and silent auction of fine art and service packages led by expert auctioneer Kip Toner, youth dance performance by Maui Academy of Performing Arts dancers and our established Raise the Paddle auction- this year, in support of Hui youth programs.

John W. Hoxie, Jr. was awarded the Board of Directors Recognition Award for his longstanding commitment to and support of the arts center throughout his 7-year volunteer tenure. Maui artist George Allan was awarded the Hui Angel Award in appreciation of his many years of inspiration, volunteerism and dedication to the Hui. Inger Tully, Hui Board Member and Curator of Exhibitions of The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, offered a heartwarming appeal to event attendees to Raise their Paddles, resulting in a hugely successful $75,000 auction that will benefit youth programs in 2010.

“Meeting our Raise the Paddle goal was both an exciting and very emotional experience,” says Kelly McHugh, Children’s Program Coordinator, “We’ve worked so hard over the past year building & strengthening programs that enable access to high-quality arts education to youth from all Maui neighborhoods- from day trips to the Hui to customized classes for children with special needs to partnering with public schools on getting our artists into their classrooms- it’s incredibly rewarding to know that our work has made a difference and that our supporters are so ready & willing to help in this way.”

In the spirit of the theme “The Bourbon Street Ball,” the Hui will be donating a portion of the event’s proceeds to New Orleans-based nonprofit “Young Aspirations / Young Artists” whose mission is to empower creative young people to become successful adults via the arts.

“We have been so fortunate to sustain and even build our support system during what has been a very challenging year for the nonprofit arts sector here on Maui,” says Hui Executive Director Caroline Killhour, “one can only imagine the added difficulty of trying to raise funds for the arts in New Orleans. We are honored to support a fellow arts education organization in this way and enormously thankful to all of the volunteers and supporters that helped to make this year’s Art Affair such a success.”

Mahalo to all of you who came together to create such a memorable evening. Learn more at www.artaffairmaui.com

Photos by Anna Kim