September 13 - November 8
Artwork Receiving Day: Tuesday, September 3rd / 9am-6pm @ Hui No’eau
Opening Reception: Friday, September 13th / 5-8pm
Juror Walkthrough: Friday, September 13th / 4pm
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!
Visit https://malamawaoakua.org/ for more information and Adventures for Artist opportunities!
Exhibition Events
Talk Story Tuesdays: The Hui & East Maui Watershed Partnership will host a different industry leader from the field of conservation. Let’s talk about conservation on Maui at the Hui!
Tuesday, September 24 at 5pm: Arthur C. Medeiros, Ph.D., Auwahi Forest Restoration Project Program Manager
Tuesday, October 8th at 5pm: Keoki Kanakaokai, The Nature Conservancy Maui Natural Resource Manager
Tuesday, October 22nd at 5pm: Zach Pezzillo, Maui Nui Plant Extinction Prevention Program Coordinator EVENT CANCELLED
Tuesday, November 5th at 5pm: Zach Pezzillo, Maui Nui Plant Extinction Prevention Program
Gallery Docent Fridays: Gallery docents from various Maui conservation organizations will provide an enhanced gallery viewing experience. Ask questions, engage in conversation, and dive deeper into the species featured in this year's exhibition and conservation work on Maui.
Fridays, 12-2pm, September 27 - November 8
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
HOW TO ENTER
1. Complete online registration between Aug. 20 - Sept. 3. (Online entry form will become available here on Aug. 20.)
Online Registration must be completed PRIOR to dropping off artwork on receiving day
2. Print & fill out artwork labels and attach to the back upper right hand corner of artwork.
3. Drop off artwork on Tuesday, Spet. 3rd from 9am-6pm during our artwork receiving day.
TEACHERS
Please use our TEACHER ONLINE ENTRY FORM if you are a teacher entering multiple student submission for Mālama Wao Akua 2024. If you are NOT a teacher part of a class please complete the individual online form.
The teacher form allows for entry of up to 10 students/entries, if you are submitting more than 10 students/entries please complete the form again with any additional submissions. Students may enter up to 3 pieces each.
How Do I Enter My Students/Class?
Complete an online entry form(s) to account for each piece being entered by your students
Complete payment
The youth entry fee is $5 per piece
Attach artwork labels to the back upper right-hand corner of all artwork
Deliver artwork on Receiving Day: Tuesday, September 3rd / 9am-6pm / Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center
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.