Contact Us Subscribe
  1. Back
  2. Current News
  3. News Archive

State Foundation on Culture and the Arts NOVEMBER 2023 Newsletter


November 2023
Newly appointed Executive Director Karen Ewald prioritizes program awareness, partnerships, public engagement
The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) Board of Commissioners recently appointed Karen Ewald as Executive Director to serve a five-year term. Ewald served as interim executive director for the past year and has been with SFCA as its Director of the Art in Public Places Program and the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum for over nine years.

“These last several years at SFCA have helped to prepare me for this position which is a true honor for me,” said Ewald. “I am excited to accomplish the goals laid out in SFCA’s strategic plan and build upon the work that our dedicated team has made to not only ensure local contemporary art is more accessible to the public but to also increase public engagement and education through our diverse programs.”

Read more on the SFCA news page: sfca.hawaii.gov/newly-appointed-sfca-executive-director-karen-ewald-prioritizes-program-awareness-partnerships-public-engagement.
Friends of HiSAM seeking applicants to manage and operate Capitol Modern Cafe

The Friends of the Hawai’i State Art Museum seeks qualified applicants to manage and operate the cafe space at the newly rebranded Capitol Modern.  Potential contractors are expected to manage and staff a high-quality food service as well as provide catering services for museum and private events.

For more information, please visit the SFCA news page: sfca.hawaii.gov/friends-of-hawaii-state-art-museum-seek-contractor-for-capitol-modern-cafe.

Art in Public Places Program

Native Hawaiian artist Roen Hufford honored at National Heritage Fellowships Ceremony
Roen Hufford was honored at the 2023 National Heritage Fellowships ceremony in Washington, D.C. Hufford follows in the footsteps of her mother, kapa master and lei-making master Marie Leilehua McDonald. McDonald was also named a NEA National Heritage Fellow in 1990. Both Hufford and McDonald have several artworks in the SFCA Art in Public Places Collection. Works by Hufford are currently on display in the “Accession: recent additions to the Art in Public Places Collection” at Capitol Modern (Hawaiʻi State Art Museum) and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Hawaiian Homelands in Kapolei.

A recording of the ceremony can be viewed on the NEA’s YouTube page: https://youtu.be/yxf3pgZ2oEI?feature=shared.

Photo: left to right, Cheryl Schiele (NEA Acting Director, Folk Arts), Hawaiʻi Congressional Representative Jill Tokuda, and National Heritage Fellow Roen Hufford. Photo credit: Lynn Martin Graton.
NEA YouTube



Art in Public Places Artwork Spotlights: “Kiʻi Kupuna: ʻo Aliaʻau - Maka (2021)” and “Piʻi Ka Mauna (Ascending the Mauna)”
Photo: museum visitors at Capitol Modern. Left to right, “Kiʻi Kupuna: ʻo Aliaʻau - Maka (2021)” acrylic and shellac painting on canvas by Carl F.K. Pao. “Piʻi Ka Mauna (Ascending the Mauna)” kapa by Roen Hufford, SFCA Art in Public Places Collection.

Roen Hufford is an accomplished kapa and lei maker, as well as a farmer and educator. She grows the majority of the wauke (paper mulberry tree) that she uses to create kapa, as well as the plants needed for pigment dyes, on her farm in Waimea (Hawaiʻi Island). To create the various marks and dynamic angular design for “Piʻi Ka Mauna (Ascending the Mauna)”, Hufford used slivers of wood and stems of various plants as printing tools, as well as making the colors from plant and earth sources. This artwork was purchased from the “Na Kapa Kuʻina” exhibit at Donkey Mill Art Center (Holualoa, Hawaiʻi Island).

Artist and teacher Carl F.K. Pao often uses a combination of bold colors, lines, and shapes to create graphically poersul images that reflect both his Hawaiian and European ancestry. For “Kiʻi Kupuna: ʻo Aliaʻau - Maka (2021)” he states that this “is a work that reflects my continued conversation with my direct ancestor Aliaʻau (the volcano deity that predates Pele). This piece is a representation of him carrying a hua or something sacred in his mouth - potential.” The painting was purchased from the “Midsummer Art Celebration 4th Annual Statewide Juried Exhibit 2021” at Wailoa Center (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island).
SFCA Art in Public Places Program

SFCA Arts Education Programs

“Artist Teacher” DOE exhibit at Capitol Modern
The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) inaugural “Artist Teacher” exhibition at Capitol Modern showcases artworks by twenty-seven DOE art teachers/administrators. On view in the ground floor cafe area November 1 – 24, 2023. Opening reception Friday, November 3 during the November First Friday live music event (6:00 – 9:00 p.m., free admission, all ages welcome).

Please help us get the word out about the talent and dedication of these public school teachers! Printable flyer: Artist Teacher exhibit flyer (PDF)
Artist Teacher Exhibit


Call for student artists: 2024 Hawaiʻi Regional Scholastic Student Art Awards Competition and Exhibition
Submissions now open for the 61st Annual Hawaiʻi Regional Scholastic Student Art Awards! Please help us get the word out to Hawaiʻi students, teachers, and schools. This art competition is open to all state of Hawaiʻi students (public, charter, home, and private) grades 7-12 (ages 13+). Winning entries will be displayed at Capitol Modern (Hawaiʻi State Art Museum). Submissions close December 15, 2023. For more information, please visit the Art and Writing Awards website: ArtAndWriting.org/awards/how-to-enter.

SFCA has also posted some updates on changes for this competition and information about how the SFCA administers the regional competition and programming: sfca.hawaii.gov/student.
How to Enter

Call for volunteer judges
SFCA is seeking volunteers who are passionate about the arts to participate on our adjudication panels for the 61st Annual Hawai‘i Regional Scholastic Art Awards. Interested judges should be prepared to review student artwork from the middle school to high school level within an artistic medium that they are the most familiar with or passionate about. For more information, please visit this SFCA news post: sfca.hawaii.gov/sfca-seeks-volunteer-judges-for-2024-hawaii-regional-scholastic-art-awards-competition.
Volunteer to judge student artwork


2024 Poetry Out Loud School Registration now open!
Please help us get the word out to Hawaiʻi high school teachers and students! Poetry Out Loud school registration is now open through December 21, 2023. For more information and to register, please visit the SFCA website: sfca.hawaii.gov/poetry-out-loud.
Poetry Out Loud

Grants and Community Programs

SFCA Grantee Spotlight: Moanalua Gardens Foundation presents 2023 Prince Lot Hula Festival highlights on television and online

Photo: Pua Aliʻi ʻIlima Na Kumu Hula Victoria Holt Takamine and Jeffrey Kanekaiwilani Takamine at the 2023 Prince Lot Hula Festival. Photo credit: Moanalua Gardens Foundation.
2023 Prince Lot Hula Festival highlights were recently presented on television and online on www.khon2.com and www.moanaluagardensfoundation.org.

Presented by Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF), the two-hour special featured highlights, including twelve hālau hula, of the live in-person festival held on July 15 in Honolulu. Ten hālau hula from O‘ahu, one from Kahului, Maui and one from Holualoa, Hawai‘i Island performed a mixture of kahiko (traditional) and ‘auana (contemporary) dances. The program also featured three hālau hula dancing Maui mele (songs).  Other highlights included vignettes of crafters, cultural practitioners and the Royal Hawaiian Band.    

Founded in 1978, the festival honors Prince Lot Kapuāiwa, who helped reprise hula in Moanalua and reigned as Kamehameha V from 1863 to 1872.

SFCA Grantee Spotlight: Hawaiʻi Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE) Maui Steel Guitar Festival Reprise
SFCA grantee Hawaiʻi Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE) presented the Maui Steel Guitar Festival Reprise with the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Showcase. October 14, 2023 streaming on Facebook Live. Video clips of Maui Steel Guitar Festival performances from 2013-2019 were shared. Please note that the in-person 2023 Maui Steel Guitar Festival was cancelled due to the Lahaina fires and ongoing rebuilding efforts. The reprise was streamed on the HIMELE Facebook page and a recording can be viewed there: fb.me/e/1Adw5TGL6.

SFCA Grantee Spotlight: exhibit features work from students of Kumulaʻau Sing and Haunani Balino-Sing


Images: left, promotional graphic for the exhibit. Right, photo of some of the works in the show (photo credit: Ke Kumu Hawaiʻi).

The art exhibit “Hana No Ke Au Ho: hana noʻeau in contemporary times” at Wailoa Center (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island) included work by six cultural practitioners who recently completed apprenticeships supported by an SFCA Folk and Traditional Arts grant. Master ʻieʻie weavers Kumulaʻau Sing and Haunani Balino-Sing aimed to revive and perpetuate the traditional art of ʻieʻie style basketry through their project. Students: Pōmai Brown, Gay Covington, Koa Chang, Makaʻala Rawlins, Taupōuri Tangarō, and Krisha Zane.

Kumulaʻau and Haunani will also be teaching workshops on Maui at the Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center in November and December. For more information, please visit the Ke Kumu Hawaiʻi website: KeKumuHawaii.com.
November 2023 Grants and Opportunities
These currently open federal, state, and other arts and culture grants/opportunities are also posted on the SFCA website: sfca.hawaii.gov/grants-and-opportunities-november-2023.

Questions regarding a particular opportunity should be directed to the organization listed with the opportunity. Inclusion here should not be interpreted as an endorsement.
•City and County of Honolulu FY2025 Grants in Aid. The City and County of Honolulu, through its Department of Community Services, is soliciting applications from qualified nonprofit agencies for the GRANTS IN AID PROGRAM (GIA). Funding is anticipated to be available to support qualified public services to economically and/or socially disadvantaged populations or provide services for public benefit in the areas of arts, culture, economic development, or the environment. All agencies must submit complete proposals by 2:00 p.m. November 22, 2023. For more information, please see the posting on the Hawaiʻi Awards and Notices Data System (HANDS): hands.ehawaii.gov/hands/opportunities/opportunity-details/23419.
•Creative Lab Hawaiʻi Music Immersive Program applications open November 1 – December 1, 2023. Hawaiʻi singer-songwriters seeking opportunities to license their works for global media and entertainment content are invited to apply. For more information, please visit the Creative Lab Hawaiʻi website: creativelab.hawaii.gov/main/musicians-creative-lab-hawaii-music-immersive-application-window-opens-on-november-1-2023.
•Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities is hiring a Director of Hawaiʻi History Day. Application deadline is November 22, 2023, or until the position has been filled. For more information and to apply, please visit the posting on HR Symphony at hrsymphony.com/hrs/route/position/7357/K9GB.
•Hoʻākea Source grants prioritizing visual artists, collaboratives, and collectives living across the island of Oʻahu. Outreach and information sessions begin in November. For more information, please visit the Hoʻākea Source website: HoakeaSource.org.
•Hawaiʻi State Legislature is hiring for the 2024 House and Senate session. Full-time and part-time temporary positions are available for an employment period spanning December/January to April/May, with medical, dental, and vision benefits available for most positions and on the job training provided. Legislative experience is not required. Individuals with a variety of skills, experiences, and unique and varied backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
◦House of Representatives: for more information visit the House employment page on the Hawaiʻi State Legislature website: www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hjobs.aspx.
◦Senate: for more information, visit the Senate employment page on the Hawaiʻi State Legislature website: www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sjobs.aspx.
Grants and Opportunities (October 2023)

Calls for Artists and Exhibitions
•Call for Artists: “Our Sea of Islands” exhibit at Capitol Modern (Hawaiʻi State Art Museum). Submissions open to indigenous Pacific Islanders represented in the 2024 Festival of the Pacific. Submissions due by November 30, 2023 on CallForEntry.org. For more information, please visit the SFCA website: sfca.hawaii.gov/call-for-artists-our-sea-of-islands.
•Call for Student Artists: 2024 Hawaiʻi Regional Scholastic Student Art Awards competition and exhibition, open to Hawaiʻi students grades 7-12 (ages 13+). Gold Key Award winning artworks will be exhibited at Capitol Modern (Hawaiʻi State Art Museum). Submissions due by December 15, 2023 through the online Arts and Writing awards portal. For more information, please visit the SFCA website: sfca.hawaii.gov/call-for-student-artists-2024-hawai%ca%bbi-regional-scholastic-art-awards-competition-and-exhibition.
•Call for Artists: Honolulu Mayor’s Office on Culture and the Arts (MOCA). ‘Ewa Mahiko District Park Gymnasium. The City and County of Honolulu Commission on Culture and the Arts desires to commission a work of art for the ‘Ewa Mahiko District Park Gymnasium (91-1205 Renton Rd, ‘Ewa Beach, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, 96706). One location has been designated to receive art. This Request for Qualifications is open to all artists, or artist teams, qualified to work for the City and County of Honolulu. Application deadline is January 1, 2024. For more information and to apply, please go to the Call For Entry website: artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=11723.
•Call for Artists: Kauaʻi Society of Artists (Kukui Grove Center, Lihue)
◦Small Works Show entry day Saturday, November 11, 2023. Exhibit November 18-January 5, 2024.
◦For more information, please visit the Kauaʻi Society of Artists website: KauaiSocietyOfArtists.org.
•Kumu Kahua Theatre "Go Try Playwrite" monthly playwriting contest in collaboration with Bamboo Ridge Press. Submission due dates are the last day of the month. Learn more on the Kumu Kahua website: KumuKahua.org/gotryplaywrite.
November 2023 Calls for Artists, Grants, and Opportunities


Capitol Modern

November Events
•First Friday, November 3. All-ages evening of live surf rock music 6-9 p.m.
•Artist Teacher exhibit reception, Friday November 3 during First Friday.
•The Vibe, Friday November 10. All-ages evening of live music. 6-9 p.m.
•Arts in Healing Workshop: “Resilience in School Environments”, Wednesday November 15, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. In-person workshop, free with registration.
EVENT CALENDAR

NOVEMBER 1 - 24, 2023
Artist Teacher
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (DOE) art exhibition of work by public school art teachers. Ground floor cafe area. Opening reception Friday November 3, 6-9 p.m. during First Friday. Printable flyer: Artist Teacher exhibit flyer (PDF).
ARTIST TEACHER EXHIBIT


UPCOMING EVENTS

FIRST FRIDAY
NOVEMBER 3

THE VIBE
NOVEMBER 10

TDR HAWAIʻI
NOVEMBER 20
RENT THE MUSEUM

Hold a special event at the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum! Indoor and outdoor spaces are available for events, parties, and film sets. Learn more about the facilities rental program on the Capitol Modern website: CapitolModern.org/rent-space.

Photo credit: Black Book Hawaii
RENT THE MUSEUM

SFCA Arts and Culture Calendar
This arts and culture calendar features SFCA grantees, partners, and Hawaiʻi state and local government programs and events. A longer list of events is on the SFCA website news page: sfca.hawaii.gov/arts-and-culture-calendar-november-2023.
Questions regarding a particular opportunity should be directed to the organization listed with the opportunity. Inclusion here should not be interpreted as an endorsement.
October 2023 Arts and Culture Highlights

•Bishop Museum After Hours: “E Hō Mai Ka ʻIke” - a special Museum After Hours that brings together multiple generations of chanters from diverse practices and experiences to pay tribute to Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole’s significant influence on the practice of oli in Hawaiʻi today. Friday, November 17, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. For more information, please visit the Bishop Museum website: BishopMuseum.org/events.
•"Ghosts of War” art exhibit at the Hōʻikeākea Gallery (Leeward Community College) October 28-December 30, 2023. For more information, please visit the 
Hōʻikeākea Gallery page: Leeward.hawaii.edu/the-arts.
•Hawaiʻi Nei 2023 Exhibition November 3-December 14, Wailoa Center (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island). For more information, please visit the Hawaiʻi Nei Art Contest website: HawaiiNeiArtContest.org.
•Ke Kumu Hawaiʻi ʻieʻie weaving (Hawaiian basketry) workshops at the Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center (Makawao, Maui), November 28-29 and December 2-3, 2023. For more information, please visit the Ke Kumu Hawaiʻi website: KeKumuHawaii.com.
•“Jean Charlot as Critic: Art in Hawai‘i, 1950–1970” exhibit at the John Young Museum (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa). Four artworks from the SFCA Art in Public Places Collection are on display in this new exhibit at the John Young Museum (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa): "Can Not Be Heard" by Betty Tseng Yuho Ecke; "Hose" by Kenneth Bushnell; "Madge Tennent" and "Iolani in Her Dance" by Francis Haar. Through December 3, 2023. For more information, please visit the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Art Department website: hawaii.edu/art/jean-charlot.
Arts and Culture Calendar November 2023

SFCA in the Media

Q&A with Karen Ewald, New Executive Director of Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
Honolulu Magazine: “Karen Ewald is someone who is not afraid of change. She had already started shaking things up at the art museum while serving as the director for the Art in Public Places program that oversees Capitol Modern (formerly known as Hawai‘i State Art Museum).” Read the full article on the Honolulu Magazine website: honolulumagazine.com/karen-ewald-executive-director-hawaii-state-foundation-culture-arts.

Longtime museum director paints 5-year vision for Capitol Modern and Hawaiʻi’s art programs
Hawaiʻi Public Radio: “Ewald said her priorities are to increase public awareness about the foundation's various programs, seek more grants outside of legislative funding, provide arts education for local students under the Arts First Partners program, and secure a vendor for the museum's cafe.” Read or listen to the full article on the Hawaiʻi Public Radio website: www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2023-10-30/longtime-museum-director-paints-5-year-vision-for-capitol-modern-and-hawai%CA%BBis-art-programs.

Cockfighting canvas and recycled glass, among UH art purchased by state
University of Hawaiʻi News: “Individual artworks created by two alumni and a student from the art and art history department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have been acquired for public viewing. In September, the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) purchased an oil painting that depicts the controversial sport of sabong or cockfighting, and sculptures made out of glass and nylon-laced ceramic for a public art collection that is displayed in hundreds of state government sites across Hawaiʻi, such as schools, libraries and Capitol Modern (formerly Hawaiʻi State Art Museum).” Read the full article on the UH News website: hawaii.edu/news/2023/10/24/uh-art-purchased-by-state.

SFCA Board of Commissioners

SFCA Board approves visits to exhibits on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Oʻahu
Acquisition Award Selection Committee (AASC) visits continue to provide important support for artists and arts organization venues statewide. The SFCA Board of Commissioners has approved Acquisition Award Selection Committee (AASC) visits to these exhibits:  
•“2023 Hawaiʻi Nei Art Exhibition”, Wailoa Center (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island), November 3 - December 14, 2023.
•“Artists of Hawaiʻi 2023”, Downtown Art Center (Honolulu, Oʻahu), November 3 - 25, 2023.
•“Marcia Morse and George Woollard”, Maui Arts and Cultural Center (Kahului, Maui), November 14 - December 30, 2023.
•“Portal 2 @ Firehouse Gallery”, Firehouse Gallery at the Waimea Arts Council, (Kamuela, Hawaiʻi Island). November 4 - December 24, 2023.
•“Mai Nā Kūpuna Mai” at The Art Gallery, University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa (Honolulu, Oʻahu). November 19, 2023 - February 11, 2024.
•“Hui Noʻeau 2024 Annual Juried Exhibition”, Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center (Makawao, Maui). January 12 - February 16, 2024.
Approved exhibit visits are also posted to the SFCA website: sfca.hawaii.gov/art-in-public-places-program/#aasc-visits.

Upcoming SFCA Board of Commissioners Meetings
•November 15, 2023
Meeting schedule is also posted to the SFCA website calendar: sfca.hawaii.gov/events.

Decisions about grants, artwork purchases, and more are made by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) Board of Commissioners. Meetings are currently being held virtually on Zoom, and the public is invited to attend. Appointed by the state governor, the Board of Commissioners oversees the Executive Director, provides input, and approves spending. Commissioners are volunteers and do not receive compensation for their duties.

Individuals may submit written testimony on posted agenda items in advance of the meeting via email to HawaiiSFCA@hawaii.gov or by mail addressed to the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, 250 South Hotel Street, 2nd Floor, Honolulu, HI 96813. Individuals interested in signing up to provide oral testimony on posted agenda items at the meeting may submit their name, email, and phone number to HawaiiSFCA@hawaii.gov. Individuals may provide oral testimony at the meeting via the above-listed video conferencing link or by calling the above listed telephone number. Testimony presented during the meeting will be limited to three minutes each.
Agenda items for General Meetings may include approval of artwork acquisition recommendations and Acquisition Award Selection Committee (AASC) art exhibit visit recommendations.

Agendas and minutes are also posted on the SFCA Board of Commissioners page.

2023 State Holiday Schedule
The Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts office is closed on Hawaiʻi state government holidays. Capitol Modern (Hawaiʻi State Art Museum) is open on some holidays - please check the museum website to confirm: CapitolModern.org.

2023 Hawaiʻi State Holidays
•November 10, Veterans’ Day (Capitol Modern will be open)
•November 23, Thanksgiving
•December 25, Christmas

SFCA Office
The SFCA office is open by appointment. SFCA is operating in a hybrid model of teleworking where all staff are available by email or telephone. If you aren’t sure who to contact, email HawaiiSFCA@hawaii.gov or call (808) 586-0300 and leave a voice message, including your name and telephone number.

Copyright (C) 2023 Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. All rights reserved.
Back to the top
The mission of the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts is to promote, perpetuate, preserve and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawai‘i. HSFCA funding is provided by the State of Hawai‘i and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hawaii State Art Museum

The Hawai'i State Art Museum is dedicated to presenting the largest and finest collection of works by Hawai'i artists that celebrate the diverse artistic and cultural legacy of Hawai'i.

OUR MISSION
To promote, perpetuate, preserve and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawai`i. HSFCA funding is provided by the State of Hawai`i and the National Endowment for the Arts. The HSFCA is administratively attached to the Department of Accounting and General Services.

HOURS:
The musuem is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed State and Federal Holdays. Always free admission. For pre-recorded information call 586-0900.

The Hawai'i State Art Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For pre-recorded summary information on the museum, call (808) 586-0900. For current museum program information, call the HSFCA Art in Public Places Program at (808) 586-0305. To arrange an educational tour of the museum, call (808) 586-9958.


For information on the HSFCA; the Hawai'i State Art Museum; HSFCA grants, programs, and services; Hawai'i arts and culture events; and USA and worldwide arts opportunities, visit the HSFCA website, www.hawaii.gov/sfca.
  1. Back
  2. Current News
  3. News Archive

Like Our Facebook

  • RELATED LINKS
  • Hawaii State Art Museum
    The Hawai'i State Art Museum is dedicated to presenting the largest and finest collection of works by Hawai'i artists that celebrate the diverse artistic and cultural legacy of Hawaii.
    250 South Hotel Street, 2nd Floor, Honolulu, HI (View Map)
Please send questions about this website to
Copyright© 2014 - 2023 KakaakoHawaii.com. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use / Legal Disclaimer / Privacy Statement
Site Designed and Managed by MacBusiness Consulting