KNOWN FOR ITS LARGER-THAN-LIFE MURALS THAT GRACE INDUSTRIAL WALLS AROUND KAKA‘AKO, POW! WOW! HAWAI‘I will take a different approach when marking its 10th anniversary of spotlighting artists and their works here in the Aloha State. Normally an extended production that allows passersby the ability to watch murals come to life, the iconic art event will stage its completed 2021 lineup at O‘ahu’s museum of natural and cultural history.

Bishop Museum’s Castle Memorial Building is quite the hotspot for traveling exhibitions—notable are the annual dinosaur showcase and LEGO exposition—and, come May 15-Sept. 19, it’ll be the hub for POW! WOW! The First Decade: From Hawai‘i to the World. While it’s spectacular to see artists hard at work in situ on the streets of Honolulu, guests can expect something extra special this year within the walls of the Castle building.

“This is really a chance to honor and celebrate the 10 years of POW! WOW! Hawai‘i’s incredible work,” says Melanie Ide, Bishop Museum president and CEO. “The other thing that will be fun is to have this cross-pollination of audiences. We’re able to open up the eyes of a lot of different people, introduce people not familiar with the work. And for contemporary art-lovers, this is like candy.”

The seemingly disparate entities—one a modern approach to sharing
art, the other a traditional curation of the arts—share a mission to bring the community together through creativity and education.

“It’s so natural,” says Ide of the partnership. “People think of museums as looking at the past, but it’s really about making connections and moving forward.”

In fact, “natural” is the precise term that POW! WOW! Hawai‘i founder Jasper Wong uses to describe the symbiosis.

“It was a natural extension,” he reiterates. “We weren’t able to do the festival this year. Usually it’s in February, so this will be a smaller-scale POW! WOW! at the museum.

“The goal this year is to have visiting artists paint murals, and work hand- in-hand with local and Native Hawaiian artists. That’s a big part of our ethos, connecting local artists with renowned ones,” Wong continues.

Hawai‘i is, in many ways, a very local-centric place. But it’s also an international spot that’s built on interpersonal and cultural connections made over time.

“I think that’s one of the most compelling things about POW! WOW! Hawai‘i’s work, is for everyone to see how connected people are,” Ide says.

Bishop Museum has always highlighted contemporary artists alongside its exhibits featuring the state’s history, and this collaboration with POW! WOW! Hawai‘i just highlights what’s already been part of the gallery’s DNA for decades.

“We’re forward-thinking, and art and creative expression is a continuum of how we see our world,” Ide shares. “We don’t draw lines between different forms of creative expression.”

Indeed, central to its purpose and kuleana is the perpetuation of local culture through storytelling in all its forms, whether that be artifacts, displays, literature, photographs or paintings. And, in fact, that extensive expertise in showcasing narratives lends itself to bolstering this year’s overall POW! WOW! Hawai‘i experience. In true museum form, there will be plaques with verbiage explaining not only what the murals portray, but also who the artists are, the history of the art styles, genres and more. Also expect video time-lapses of the paintings so viewers can experience the art through different mediums.

“We are planning to build a very immersive exhibit in Castle Memorial Building. I want the space to transport you to a different place,” adds Wong. “We’re working out different ideas to provide education without pulling you away from the exhibits. It will be visually impressive, but also educational.”

Wong, who’s curating POW! WOW! Hawai‘i 2021 with Kamea Hadar, Jeff Gress and Andrew Hosner, also teases a walk-through original art exhibit, activities and classes spread out across Bishop Museum grounds.

“We know that because of the pandemic, a lot of students and kids are struggling,” Wong explains. “We’re hoping to provide resources and educational initiatives and workshops to help fill some of those gaps.”

It all leads back to that shared goal of making access to creative expression available to all.

“I think we don’t have enough art in our lives,” Ide adds. “What Hawai‘i needs to do is power up on art, to believe in what art can do to transform our world.”

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