Now on view at Spalding House (the former Contemporary Art Museum), the art that composes “Biennial of Hawaii Artists X” demands a very few minutes of viewing time. You can see the exhibition in 20 minutes without hurrying.
Hiki No, the nation’s first student news network that began in February of last year, translates to “Can Do” in Hawaiian. It’s a befitting title for a network just over a year old that’s now assembled more than 70 participating public, private and charter schools.
Films like The Lorax have made sustainability and talking trees seem feasible. Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods (HLH), a business focusing on the sustainable production of tropical hardwoods and the preservation of forests, makes these fantasies a reality.
The finale of the Hawaii Symphony’s inaugural season approaches, with three brilliant programs remaining. This week, Cuban-born guitarist Manuel Barrueco plays Joaquin Rodrigo’s sublime Concierto de Aranjuez and Toru Takemitsu’s To the Edge of Dream.
Taika Waititi’s Boy has become Aotearoa’s highest-grossing local film, a timeless look at a world oft-overlooked in current cinema: indigenous local life. Shot in his remote hometown of Waihau Bay and now on the brink of an American theatrical release funded through Kickstarter, this tale of childhood hits the kindred shores of Hawaii.
Plan to attend the Grow Hawaiian Festival and celebrate Hawaii’s culture and environment. Presented by Hawaiian Electric Company on Saturday, April 28, from 9am to 3pm, at Bishop Museum, the festival offers creative activities for the whole family: View the displays of traditional Hawaiian crafts handmade by well-known artisans.
When I first met Stephen Agustin it was at Chinatown’s Here Today, a now defunct vintage clothing store, which doubled as a tiny space for local musicians ranging from the avant-garde to the I Never Leave My Bedroom variety. I don’t know what songs he played specifically, but it was simply his voice and guitar layered in not-so-simple reverb that ran on for a good 17 minutes (which in shoegaze-y terms is more like six-and-a-half real life minutes).
In Sean T.C. O’Malley’s latest play, Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox is depicted in the latter part of his career, as the first Hawaiian delegate to congress.
It has been said of The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde’s most famous comedy, that the first act is genius, the second beautiful and the third abominably clever. Wilde delivered this verdict himself but that shouldn’t invalidate the judgment: Earnest is a play for the ages, one of the wittiest ever written and an absolute joy to hear and to behold; although, a trifle less so at a second night performance.
A few weeks ago, Tenzin Choden, born Nicholas Kolivas (full disclosure: this author’s brother), returned home to Honolulu after being ordained by the Dalai Lama. After studying Buddhism in the US, how did you get to India?
In the last decade, Portland-based rockers the Shins gave us three albums’ worth of irresistibly catchy songs with jangly guitars and melodies reminiscent of the Beach Boys. After a five-year hiatus, James Mercer resurrected the Shins with a new album, a new band, and a new artistic outlook.
Entering Hawaii Art Now at the Honolulu Museum of Art, visitors are arrested by Dorothy Faison’s aptly titled “The Captain’s Lawnbed Courtesy of the Lawnboat Historical Society.” The piece, with apples arranged atop billowy quilting, resting on four layers of synthetic lawn, is a platform for the space between living and longing, and also between dream and memory. Or a vessel, if you prefer, for navigating those spaces.
Birdwatcher or not, you won’t want to miss the gorgeously detailed, lively portraits of our native avifauna in hand-colored lithographs by Johannes Keulemans, a 19th century illustrator, on view at Maunakea Gallery through March 31. The show is entitled “Extinction,” and part of the proceeds from sales of the several dozen unique prints, from a very limited edition, are being donated to the non-profit Hawaii Wildlife Center (HWC).
In the past 10 years, Halau Ku Mana has grown from a near-impossible idea to a state-recognized charter school with 78 students. “It’s been a journey filled with ups and down, but what keeps us focused is the hope and aspiration of improving our education system for our charters,” said Mahinapoepoe Duarte, principal of the school.
The sleeping beauty formerly known as the Honolulu Symphony has awakened from fitful slumber, thanks to the heroic new board of directors, the intrepid musicians who kept the faith, and the brilliant JoAnn Falletta, who arranged the conductors, soloists, and repertoire for its exciting new season as the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Falletta conducted the Symphony’s last concert two years ago, before it fell under the silent spell.
In scenes as gorgeous as a Koolau sunrise and as juicy as a ripe guava, Robert Bates and Brian Kimmel’s documentary explores the problem of feeding people well, healthfully and sustainably in the new 30-minute documentary, Ingredients Hawaii. The Oahu-centric project reports on developments in culturally and ecologically-sensitive farming and gardening in interviews with farmers, chefs, home gardening advocates, agricultural students, a company that designs rooftop gardens and another that collects unused produce to disseminate to those in need.
Franco Salmoiraghi and his camera have been soulmates since the 1950s. He moved to Hawaii in 1968 to teach at Pacific New Media and is most famous for documenting political, social and cultural change here, such as the ruins of historical sites or buildings, the closing of the sugar mills and the landscape of the one-time bomb target island of Kahoolawe.
If music is the most abstract and formally structured of the arts, it can also be the most emotional. Teachers talk about the great composers as if they knew them, while students never cease to be amazed that such long-dead beings ever had lives–until they learn to listen, for few things speak so much to our humanity as live music does.
A little teenage angst–what’s the worst that can happen? In the case of Spring Awakening, now at Manoa Valley Theatre, plenty.
Of the dozens of locally made artisanal foods introduced to Hawaii in the past 20 years–breads, smoked seafood, chocolates, microbrewery beers–none have been cow’s milk cheese. But if Naked Cow Dairy, the Islands’ only cow’s milk producer (15 head on a ranch out in Waianae), succeeds in an online-based fundraising effort via [indiegogo.com], that will change.
In 1897, a delegation of Hawaiians travelled to Washington, DC with 38,000 signatures opposing Hawaii’s annexation to the United States. The proposed “annexation treaty” failed.
Outside / Whether you’re looking to cut carbon emissions or whittle your waistline, commute casually or tackle Tantalus, you’re likely to find a bike that suits your wants and needs at one of these shops. The Bike Shop Specializing in road bikes and mountain bikes, The Bike Shop also sells triathlon bikes, urban/commuter bikes, cruisers, BMX bikes, folding bikes, fixies and kids’ bikes.
Entertainment / When celebrities stand at 6 feet 5 inches tall, weigh 275 pounds and are a 16-time WWF/E wrestling champion, people want to know they’re not invincible. Last month, when actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson flew into Hawaii to promote his latest film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island–a PG rated family-friendly adventure story shot on-location around Oahu, currently playing in theaters–common questions from the press included: “Anything that just grosses you out, like spiders?” “Were there injuries on set?” “Did you trip on anything creepy out there in the jungle?” “No, not necessarily,” Johnson says, “you know, I grew up here in Hawaii, so…” While Journey may take place on a mysterious island, for Johnson, Oahu itself isn’t so mystifying.
Legal / The debate on legalizing gambling in Hawaii returns to the Legislature. Proponents say the tax revenues would add to the state’s bottom line; those opposed cite crime and addiction among their reasons.
Stage / To live is to be concerned with things: money and clothes, guns and blades–soulful instruments like food, music and love. August Wilson’s Seven Guitars, now playing at The Actors’ Group (TAG), is an exploration of such themes, told through the lives of seven African American men and women and set in the Hill District of Pittsburgh in 1948.
Given the city’s crumbling infrastructure and rail controversy, it’s hard to believe anyone would want to be the next mayor of Honolulu. But a few do want the job, including the incumbent, Mayor Peter Carlisle, the former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney who won a 2010 special election to fill the remainder of Mufi Hannemann’s term.
I’d never been to a Honolulu City Council meeting until a few weeks ago. Features, not politics, was my beat.
Victoria Holt Takamine is a kumu hula, a cultural activist and a teacher and has an impeccable pedigree to back up all these titles. Born of an alii family whose kuleana was in Moanalua, she graduated as a hula teacher under the legendary Auntie Maiki Aiu Lake and taught hundreds of students in her own halau (Pua Alii ‘Ilima) and at the University of Hawaii.
On April 25, a state judge dismissed trespassing charges against a Kauai man after finding that he had been exercising traditional native Hawaiian rights hunting wild pigs on private land. Kui Palama, 28, was arrested on Jan.
The city plans to dish out $3.5 million from its Affordable Housing Fund and either purchase or renovate a structure to provide transitional housing for Honolulu’s special needs homeless population. “Our community has invested considerable effort and resources in addressing homelessness,” Mayor Peter Carlisle said in a statement, “but there remains a population whose disabilities or chronic conditions make it difficult for them to participate in traditional shelter programs.” Carlisle is referring to those homeless with mental illnesses, addictions and physical disabilities.
Makaweli Poi faces an uncertain future after its owner, a corporate subsidiary of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) ordered the West Kauai mill to suspend operations May 23. Mona Bernardino, chief operating officer of the corporation, Hiipoi LLC, says the move to shut down Makaweli Poi was prompted mainly by financial concerns.
A resolution adopted by the City Council will solidify an agreement between the City and County of Honolulu and the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center (UH-WRRC) to conduct an analysis of impacts from ocean sewer outfalls on the marine environments off of Oahu. The city will pay UH-WRRC as much as $2.5 million for biological and sediment studies in portions between now and June 30, 2017 .
Along with the deep, verdant growth of spring sprouts an unyielding desire to spend more time in the open air. That’s why it should come as no surprise that National Bike Month falls in the sun-drenched time of May.
Of the many letters you publish against rail, how many offer an alternative that won’t send us into further economic demise? Billions of gallons of oil are imported for us from every oil-producing nation on this planet so that we can buy billions of gallons of gasoline.
TheBus is taking a back seat to rail. At the May 3 Downtown Neighborhood Board meeting, an audience member asked city Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka when we could expect the bus route cancellations and changes to be reversed.
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