September 13 - November 8
Artwork Receiving Day: Tuesday, September 3 / 9am-6pm @ Hui No’eau
In-Person Artist Information Session: Tuesday, June 4 / 5pm @ Hui No’eau
Online Artist Information Session: Wednesday, July 10th / 1pm (via zoom)
Jurors: Mike Takemoto, Visual Artist and Associate Professor of Art at UH Maui College, and Kat M. Lui, Former EMWP Community Outreach and Education Liaison (2003-2009)
ABOUT MĀLAMA WAO AKUA
Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center in collaboration with East Maui Watershed Partnership (EMWP) brings you Mālama Wao Akua (Caring for the Realm of the Gods) – a juried art exhibition celebrating the native species of Maui Nui (Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, Kaho‘olawe). We invite Maui artists to explore our watersheds and use their creative talents to raise awareness about the importance of protecting native species.
Selected artwork should be successful in sharing knowledge of the watersheds and native species with others in a meaningful way. Artwork will also be selected based upon a number of criteria, including originality of concept, creativity, technique, professionalism, and presentation. Our hope is that Maui artists of all ages will explore our watersheds and express the value that native species have within our daily life. This exhibition is sure to provide powerful visuals that celebrate Maui’s native plant and animal life. A jurying team with expertise in both art and conservation will select from among the pool of entries. Works in any medium are welcome!
Stay tuned for more information! Visit https://malamawaoakua.org/ for more information and Adventures for Artist opportunities!
Information Sessions
These informative presentations will explain what “Native to Maui Nui” means, give ideas on how to research species, places you can visit and how to find eligible species to enter Mālama Wao Akua. Both EMWP and Hui No‘eau staff will be on hand to answer all your questions about entering this year's Mālama Wao Akua Exhibition!
In-person: Tuesday, June 4th / 5pm at Hui No‘eau
Online: Wednesday, July 10th / 1pm via Zoom
Important Dates
Online Registration: August 20 – September 3
Online Priority Registration Deadline: Tuesday, August 27
Artwork Receiving Day: Tuesday, September 3 / 9am-6pm (Hui No‘eau)
Selection Notification (via website): by Thursday, September 5 by 6pm
Pick-up of Non-selected Work: Friday, September 6 / 9am-4pm
Pick-up of Selected Work: Saturday, November 9 / 9am-4pm
About the jurors
Mike Takemoto, Visual Artist and Associate Professor of Art at UH Maui College
Michael Takemoto is a visual artist and Professor of Art at the University of Hawai’i Maui College. Takemoto received a BFA in Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. He earned an MA and an MFA in Studio Art from Northern Illinois University.
Takemoto has exhibited his paintings, prints, murals, sculpture, and installations nationally and at various locations in Hawai’i, including the Honolulu Museum of Art, the East Hawai’i Cultural Center, the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, the Wailoa Center, the Downtown Art Center, and the Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center. In 2003, his work was featured in the 6th Biennial of Hawai’i Artists at the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu.
At UHMC, Takemoto is the Program Coordinator of the Art Department and teaches courses in art appreciation, drawing, painting, and printmaking. He has also worked as a teaching artist with the Maui Arts and Cultural Center’s education program, the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Art’s Artists-in-the-Schools Program, and the Kaunoa Senior Center.
Kat M. Lui, Former EMWP Community Outreach and Education Liaison (2003-2009)
Kat Lui is a wildlife biologist/botanist-turned-acupuncturist who comes from a family of artists. She fell in love with the magic and mystery of “Wao Akua” when she worked with the now extinct Po‘ouli and other endangered songbirds of East Maui, in 2001. In 2004, while serving as the Community Outreach and Education Liaison for East Maui Watershed Partnership, she was inspired to take Connie J. Adam’s watercolor class and paint an ‘Ākohekohe. Unsatisfied with how the piece turned out, she wondered if there was a way to harness the talents of local artists to capture the magnificence and fragility of Maui’s native flora and fauna. Hence, she created the Mālama Wao Akua juried art exhibition, and ran it until 2009, when she left the islands to meditate for three years.
Through meditation, she realized the powerful effects of Maui’s mana on her ‘uhane-shen-spirit and qi, which inspired her to study and practice Chinese Medicine. She and her partner now own a clinic in Bend, Oregon.