What Makes Maui MAUI

Each year, Hui No‘eau has selected individuals that are making a profound community engagement impact via the visual arts and invited them to share their talents, tools and time with our Hui as an artist in residence. Ranging in length from 2 – 4 weeks, these intensive arts experiences generate new and lasting relationships and ideas, offering people from all walks of life a fresh opportunity to connect with ART. Whether it’s spending 8 hours helping to remove hundreds of saplings of invasive strawberry guava that will become a giant sculpture (On the Wild Side, 2011) or simply spending 1 hour at a panel discussion chatting with social justice advocates about how after-school programs can give at-risk youth a stronger voice to actively define community issues important to them (Many Stories, Many Voices, 2010), we strive for inclusion in each Artist in Residence program planning process.

It’s hard to believe it’s only been 14 days since Philadelphia-based muralist Shira Walinsky and her trusty sidekick Adam Corrigan landed on Maui to conduct their July 2012 Artist Residency at the Hui. A collaboration that has lasted more than 6 months to date, their introductory installment to the Hui No‘eau Maui Mural Project will be completed just hours before their departure tomorrow, July 20^th.

“It has been very exciting to have such experts in the field come to Maui to share their process, enthusiasm and unique point of view,” remarks Hui Executive Director (and Philadelphia native) Caroline Killhour, “I love that Philadelphia is known as the “City of Murals,” and that it is a social norm to interpret neighborhoods there through large-scale works of high-quality art. It’s so interesting to now see our island interpreted this way, and all of the shared visions from members of our community translated.”

Working closely with both the Hui programs team and a collection of volunteer consultants representing various fields, interest groups and points of view, Shira continually sketched design drafts, sending them out for feedback and then changing direction – all a response to various notions of “What Makes Maui MAUI.”

“There have been so many contrasting points of view; such a fascinating window into this new world,” remarks Walinksy, “but more than anything, there is a deep connectedness to and respect for the natural world here and it’s conversation with an ever-growing population.”

Shira’s design (which was still changing as of yesterday, as the first parachute cloth panels were being adhered to the free-standing mural structure on the Hui lawn), incorporates elements of ocean, sky and mountain, taro, canoe and telephone wire. She combines her specialized collage style with woodcut areas (enlarged from a piece she made on-site in our printmaking studio), complemented by luscious color and vivid contrast.

Want to see for yourself? Stop by the Hui tonight for your first chance to see the completed piece and last chance to meet Shira & Adam before they head back to Philly tomorrow afternoon:

Thursday, July 19: Artist Chat & Presentation with Artist-in-Residence Shira Walinsky: Join us in bidding bon voyage to public art expert Shira Walinsky who will share slides of her work with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, talk about her work igniting social change via the visual arts, and engage in conversation about the process of creating the first installment to the Hui No’eau Maui Mural Project. (5:00 PM / FREE)

Want to be a part of the Hui No‘eau Maui Mural Project? Join us in October as we welcome Eric Okdeh, Shira's colleague, also from the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

Read more:
The Hui No’eau Maui Mural Project: Preliminary Sketches!
A Chat with Muralist Shira Walinksy

MAHALO TO THE MURAL TEAM:

Artist
Shira Walinsky

Assistant Artist
Adam Carrigan

Planning Team
Kelly McHugh
Anne-Marie Forsythe

Lana Coryell

Build Volunteers
Andrew Brodzinski
Don Bernshouse
Gilson Killhour

Mural Students
Lana Davis
Kalyn Dorheim
Sedona Estomo
Audrey Ginger
Gabe Killhour
Valentin Miro Quesada
Kenui Smythe-Fujiwara
Annie Terwilliger
Elliott Cost
Rosario Virasoro
Jen Russo
Laurie Furumoto
Mike Takemoto
Matthew Clement
Connie Adams

Mural Painters
Tim Garcia
Valentin Miro Quesada
Caroline Killhour
Jessica
Star
Ashley
Lisa Morrison
Bryson
Danno Kolohe Weiss

Mural Consultants
Hokulani Holt, Cultural Programs Director, Maui Arts & Cultural Center
Rae Takemoto, Vice Principal, Pomaikai Elementary School
Kahulu Maluo, Halau Kumu & Arts Administrator, Maui Arts & Cultural Center
Paul Wood, Writer, Teacher, Radio Personality
Priscilla Mikell, Kamehameha Schools Maui
Nancy Aleck, Executive Director, Hawai‘i People's Fund
Jen Russo, Maui Time Weekly
Robin Curammeng, Art Teacher, Maui High School
Scott Fisher, Director of Conservation, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust
Tim Garcia, Maui Sculptor & Hui Board Member
Valentin Miro-Quesada, Artist
Shai-Anne Shamblin, Artist
Paul Janes-Brown, Vision Actualizer
Moani Wagner, Executive Director, Hawaiian Cultural Practices Institute
Irene Bowie, CEO of Maui Tomorrow
Sally Raisbeck, Maui Peace Action
Helen Nielsen, President, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust
Michael Moore, Owner & Mastermind of Star Noodle, Old Lahaina Luau and Leoda's Kitchen