Puʻuhonua Society’s regranting program, Hoʻākea Source, in partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program, and with additional support from the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation and the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, announces its third hui of awardees. A total of $122,000 will be distributed in grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
Fourteen visual art grantees will have one year to realize projects centered on ea (freedoms), puʻuhonua (refuges), and moemoeā (dreams). Three unrestricted grants have been awarded to individuals with a material practice rooted in Hawaiian culture.
This funding represents a meaningful and sustained shift in Hawaiʻi’s arts ecosystem—one that honors and acknowledges the work of the many generations who have come before while encouraging innovation. Projects celebrate the diverse practices of artists and cultural practitioners across Hawaiʻi, spanning disciplines and generations. Works include photography; workshops exploring the intersections of disability and the environment, Palauan kite making, and sound theory; cultural practices rooted in ceremony, wood carving, traditional ʻieʻie twined basketry, hula kiʻi, and featherwork; a dance-ritual fashion performance; community-based initiatives grounded in cinema culture; printmaking as a tool for activism; thematic mixed-media installations; and a 3D animation project reimagining Native Hawaiian moʻolelo.
A trio of review panelists convened to discuss and select this year’s awardees from a pool of 82 applicants representing Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island. Bios quotes of the panelists can be found below.
SEAN CONNELLY is an artist and spatial practitioner working across contemporary art and civic practice. His work examines relationships between land, water, architecture, and power, grounded in archipelagic and oceanic ways of knowing that understand place as an interconnected ecological, cultural, and political system. Realized through exhibitions, installations, public artworks, film, and long-term site-based initiatives, his practice treats form, research, and site as inseparable. Projects often operate as spatial propositions that register historical erasure, environmental change, and alternative futures. Extending beyond the exhibition, Sean directs After Oceanic and the nonprofit Hawaiʻi Nonlinear, where he develops durational work embedded within real sites, communities, and governance frameworks, positioning art as cultural infrastructure for collective stewardship and long-term transformation.
“Mahalo to Ho‘ākea Source for the opportunity to serve on this year’s panel. As an artist and creative laborer myself, I have a deep appreciation for the time, care, and vulnerability that goes into preparing an application, and it was an honor to spend time with the thoughtful work shared by artists across the islands. The process offered a meaningful glimpse into the depth of creativity and commitment within our special and significant artistic community. What stood out most was the strength of the community across the islands and the thoughtful ways artists are engaging with place, history, and one another. Opportunities like this are not only about awards, but about the ongoing practice of refining how we speak about our work and our intentions. I hope artists continue to apply with confidence, knowing that this process contributes to the growth and vitality of Hawai‘i’s creative community and reflects a shared spirit of generosity, excellence, and continual learning.”
MELEANNA ALULI MEYER is based on the island of O’ahu, Hawai’i. An award winning multi-media artist and educator, she considers herself a translator of visual media and a visionary in the way she weaves culture, reconciliation, healing, and support of ‘ike Hawai’i (Hawaiian knowledge) into her work on various platforms and media. A Stanford graduate, B.A. ‘78, Borelli prize winner; M.A.’94 in Educational foundations; EWC Fellow, APAWL and Salzburg Fellow, Meyer’s deep dives into Culture, Arts and Spirituality have been a lifelong and ongoing passion, not just of Hawaiian culture, but of all cultures of the world that hold her interests. She is a recent Golden Hibiscus winner of HT 2025- an international multi-site, 4 month series of exhibitions for her recent monumental work; ʻUmeke Lāʻau.
“Particular gratitudes to both the many applicants who submitted remarkable proposals for this HOʻĀKEA granting round and to Puʻuhonua Society for its incredible leadership in setting thoughtful parameters for this regranting process of monies for the arts in Hawaiʻi.
Deeply thoughtful considerations were designed to allow panelists the opportunity to review each proposal with incredible thoroughness, focusing on ideas and values that gave us remarkable support in our decision-making. Mahalo to all. This kind of financial and creative support will catalyze and encourage not only artists, but perhaps the communities from which they come. A welcome opportunity to create meaningful art in these fraught times.”
PABLO GUARDIOLA lives and works in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Guardiola’s work references the poetic language found in everyday objects and the power of context in the creation of meaning. He has exhibited his work at San Francisco Arts Commission, New Langton Arts, Galeria de la Raza in San Francisco, at Johannes Vogt, Present Co. in New York City, Embajada in San Juan, PR, among many others. He completed a B.A. in European History at the University of Puerto Rico (Río Piedras, San Juan) and an MFA in photography at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2005. Guardiola is co-director of Beta Local, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting contemporary art practices and aesthetic thought in Puerto Rico.
“It was an honor to be part of the Hoʻākea Source panel and to have direct access to the extraordinary art scene across the Hawaiian archipelago. I’m grateful to have been so close to a process that felt honest, generous, and deeply committed to projects developed with sensitivity to the Hawaiian context. It’s always a meaningful opportunity to exchange knowledge with colleagues working from other islands and to learn from their processes.”
Below is a list of the proposals selected for funding in 2026, including working titles, artist names, and project descriptions. Visual arts grantees will have the opportunity to bring their artistic endeavors and visions to life over the next year, presenting their finished projects in venues and communities of their choice, while material practice grantees receive unrestricted awards to support their practice. Hoʻākea Source looks forward to seeing their projects come to fruition and making a positive impact on the local arts ecosystem in Hawaiʻi and beyond. For more information about Hoʻākea Source and its initiatives, visit www.hoakeasource.org.
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He ʻŌpaka Ka Lani
Jesse Kekoa Kahoʻonei
He-Opaka-Ka-Lani will explore the ongoing revival of the Hawaiian practice of kalai, woodcarving, with a particular focus on its most intricate and revered form, kalai kii—the carving of ancestral images or tiki god figures. This project will delve into the artistic, cultural, and spiritual significance of kii, not only as sacred objects but also as a means of storytelling and historical preservation. This project will reinterpret this traditional art form by creating small scale kii that represent historical figures who have never before been depicted in this medium, honoring their legacy through a distinctly Hawaiian artistic and cultural lens.
Ka Moolelo o Ka Makani Kaili Aloha
Manana Paschoal
Ka Moolelo o Ka Makani Kaili Aloha creates a faithful retelling of its namesake through 3D animation. As a renowned love story of Kīpahulu, the project draws primarily from a 1980 publication by renowned mea kākau Thomas K. Maunupau in Ke Alahou, itself a partial republication of the 1922 article “Akai Makaikai no Kaupo, Maui” in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa which attributes the story to kūpuna Joseph V. Marciel, Josua Ahulii, and Alapai Kapaeko. Alongside animating the most intact written account, Paschoal will research additional versions of the moʻolelo, including an oral account shared by Kīpahulu-born kupuna Kāwika Kaʻalakea, honoring the proper preservation protocols of Hawaiian historiography.
For A Long Time
Emerson Goo
Drawing on philosopher Sunaura Taylor’s concept of “disabled ecologies,” For A Long Time is a photography/film workshop about the intersections of disability and the environment in Hawaiʻi. By framing Hawaiʻi’s lands and waters as environments which are disabled or impaired by capitalism, colonization, and militarization—and which require care and recognition of their interdependency, as disabled individuals do—workshop participants will link struggles for disability and environmental justice. Participants will produce photography and/or film-based artwork which documents their embodied and somatic relationships to the environment through the lens of crip epistemology, explore strategies for making their art more accessible, and display their work in an online exhibition. Through this project, I hope to instigate a wider consciousness of disability arts and anti-ableist practices in our arts communities. The way we relate to ʻāina is an experience of alterity and vulnerability, rather than one involving only abled bodies within “ideal” landscapes.
Traditional Kites of Belau (Palau)
Anthony Watson
My aim is to produce a number of belauan kites, made according to oral and written descriptions. Using natural materials that are sourced locally, my process will document the assembly of said kites, test them in flight, and invite select members of the public to fly them at various locations. This will show the wisdom, humanity, aesthetic and purpose of a craft that has not been seen in decades.
AN UNDERGROUND ISLAND: A MULTI. PROJECT
Kera Rasavanh
An Underground Island is a Multi. research project that explores archives as sanctuaries and examines underground art scenes in Hawai’i from the late 1970s to the 1990s. The scope of research includes local independently produced publications, memorabilia, happenings, the punk music scene, and now-defunct event venues. Fieldwork will be conducted by our team, including lead artist Kera Rasavanh, Cole Turner, and Vincent Bercasio, with plans to preserve stories and ephemera by making them accessible to the public. This project will culminate with a publication and exhibition hosting public programming.
Honolulu Soundscapes
Alec Singer
Honolulu Soundscapes is a workshop initiative that provides a learning environment for participants to engage with sound theory, equipment, field recording, audio editing programs, and sound systems. This project aims to harness sound as technology and listening as technique through a series of workshops that will culminate in various forms of presentation and performance as a way to facilitate participants understanding of soundscapes in and of themselves as respite from daily life and as a way to access aspects of reality that are often unheard and overlooked during waking life. Sharing out in this way is a vital part of Honolulu Soundscapes as it provides an opportunity for the public to engage with sound and to learn more about how sound is an important part of the visual arts ecosystem in the process.
Kaahupahau
Malia Osorio and D. Kauwila Mahi
This project will be rooted in the research and development of the moʻolelo of Kaahupahau. Using this ʻike, designs and pieces will be created and then printed during community gatherings where the moʻolelo will be taught and discussed relating to our world today. Participants will be encouraged to further engage with the moʻolelo and pieces via direct actions pertaining to current states of emergencies we are facing in Hawaiʻi, such as military lease expirations, and protection of ʻāina like Haleakalā, Pōhakuloa, and Mauna a Wākea.
Pilina Aloha: Hula Kiʻi, Kauaʻi, and Beloved Queen Emma
Mauilola Cook
This project will birth new kiʻi in the Beamer tradition of Hawaiian puppetry and present three mele through Hula Kiʻi at the annual Queen Emma Festival which honors the Queen’s 1851 journey to Alaka‘i after the passing of her husband and son. The hula kiʻi mele presented will be one new, one enduring, and one classic.
Haʻiwāhine: An Ode to The Sacred Soundscape of Storytelling Through Song, Chant, Dance, Prayer & Regalia
Hāwane Rios
Hāwane descends from an oratory people who were once masters of memorization, observation, and knowledge acquisition. She was taught by her many mentors and teachers that song, chant, dance, prayer, and ceremony are portals to ancestral memory. Her devotion to the practice of memorization through these mediums of expression spans over 30 years of commitment to growing and honing her skills. She has spent her life reclaiming her language, researching, studying, and learning the art of Haku Mele (song and chant composition) to contribute to the legacy of the transference of knowledge through the generations. Hāwane infuses her mele with her love for the land that she comes from with the intention that it invigorates the consciousness of all who are called to hear her heart and stories through her compositions.
Actualina Takes Root In Place
Actualina
Actualina (she/they) surfaced in 2020 in Ka Pae ʻĀina o Hawaiʻi during research for the project A Record of Drifting Across the Sea. This year, she will work alongside a community of artists/advisors across the archipelago. For Actualina Takes Root in Place, Actualina builds an Agit, a hypothetical and allegorical place for hui intended to revive dying cinema culture. Gathering participants, she cooks, screens films, listens to and sings songs, and alters a residence into an Agit with various designers. This Agit functions as a site of shared inquiry, relationship-building—grounding work in collective process, where she proposes a prototype for a new institution fitted for today’s complex landscape. She will make videos and music, publicly accessible locally and beyond Moananuiākea. When cinema fades, films scatter—people must move together to encounter them. The project culminates in productions developed through the concept of Agit, shared in Hawaiʻi, then extended to Bergen, Norway, and Gwangju, Korea.
There Are No Billboards in Hawaiʻi
Vincent Bercasio
There Are No Billboards in Hawai’i is a photographic survey of Hawaiian land undergoing varying types of industrial transformation in service of modern infrastructure and the mili-tourism industrial complex. Sites undergoing drastic material change will be placed in conversation with commercial imagery exploiting the Hawaiian landscape along with the kūpuna, community members and cultural practitioners who contend directly with Hawai’i’s urban development. Through an investigative photo series, mixed-media collages, and a brief experimental documentary, I ask these questions: What kinds of land extraction have been normalized, de-politicized, and are ongoing since the completion of the H3? Who has been directly affected by extreme land transformation, and what are their stories? And lastly, how does the use of the Hawaiian landscape in advertising material contribute to the degradation of the land?
Alu Ka Pule
Angelique (Ang) Kalani Axelrode
Alu Ka Pule is a feature-length-embodied documentary centering six Kānaka Maoli survivors/activists/families impacted by gender based and sexual violence. In an embodied documentary, participants are physically present as themselves, not reduced to narrative subjects. This proposal focuses on a specific component of the documentary: the creation of collaboratively designed tableaux, or staged scenes with each participant, that also function as a standalone physical installation. These tableaux, alongside select interview material, will be presented as a nonlinear installation using human scale screens and physical set elements, inviting audiences into an intimate encounter rather than a traditional documentary viewing.
The project is a collaboration between aka productions and Kamāwaelualani. In parallel, the team is developing a research-based data initiative: creating a data scraping tool that addresses gaps in public reporting and state documentation for missing and murdered cases in Hawaiʻi.
Dardarat
Lydia Querian
Dardarat (Ilocano for “flow”) is an immersive dance-ritual fashion performance by Lydia Querian, a Filipina diasporic dance artist, fashion designer, and cultural producer, and descendant of Sakada plantation workers in Hawaiʻi. Created for the framework of ʻike kūpuna and Indigenous resurgence, this work emerges from ancestral memory, dreamspace, and ocean movement. As a Sakada descendant living in Hawaiʻi, Querian honors Filipino plantation laborers while situating their histories within a wider constellation of Indigenous Pacific relationships.
Ola Ka ʻIeʻie
Kumulāʻau Sing and May Haunani Balino-Sing
Lloyd Harold “Kumulāʻau” Sing Jr. is a Native Hawaiian weaver and cultural bearer devoted to the revitalization of endangered Indigenous material traditions through contemporary, community-centered practice. Grounded in ancestral teachings, he approaches weaving as a living, collective art form—one that belongs not to any single individual, but to the lāhui and the generations who continue to carry it forward. In collaboration with his wife and creative partner, May Haunani Balino-Sing, they have facilitated and continue to teach cohort programs across the paeʻāina focused on restoring ulana ʻie. Together, they explore contemporary interpretations of kāne and wahine ideologies, framing cultural preservation as experimental, adaptive, and deeply communal.
Mizu Wai/Story Weaving East Maui Waterway
Corinne Okada Takara
Mizu Wai/Story Weaving East Maui Waterway is a community art initiative rooted in the ancestral relationship between water, wai, and people of East Maui. Grounded in Native Hawaiian epistemologies of ʻāina (stewardship) and pilina (relationality), this project integrates visual art, ecological mapping, and participatory workshops to illuminate water’s cultural, environmental, and spiritual currents as living carriers of moʻolelo (stories) and memory.
Hale ʻUla
Enoka Phillips
Hale ʻUla is a small-scale feathered structure that serves as both sculptural installation and research foundation for a future large-scale feathered temple. Constructed from woven ʻieʻie (rattan) and entirely thatched with feathers, the Hale investigates the structural, material, and ceremonial potential of feathered architecture. Inspired by ancestral feathered kiʻi and sacred forms associated with Kūkaʻilimoku, it functions as an embodied image with presence. Through cultural research, material experimentation, and community-based featherwork practices, this phase establishes the groundwork for a monumental iteration of Hale ʻUla in the future.
Shapeshifter of Kohala
Boots Lupenui
This project is a portrait of a kupua—a supernatural shapeshifter—from the kaʻao, The Legend of Hoamakeikekula. The story lives in the forested lands of Keawewai on Kohala Mountain. Hoamakeikekula is a beautiful young woman of Kohala who journeys through hardship and wonder, guided by dreams, visions, and beings who shift their forms. Through love and birth, her story becomes a source of learning for the people across generations. The ancestors understood kupua as real presences in the world, not metaphors. By painting them in an oil portrait, space is made for them to stand with people again. As the portrait is created, the process is documented in time-lapse and the story is narrated, shared through the YouTube channel Kohala Mountain Stories. This work brings kupua into the present, reminding viewers that lives are still shaped by magic, memory, and the truth held in our stories.
