The rebuild of the Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center (PYCC) is not just a response to environmental change, but an exciting opportunity to root a new facility in the stories, relationships, and lived experiences that help to define Pāʻia. In partnership with the County of Maui Public Art Program, Maui Public Art Corps (MPAC) is guiding a multi-year process to embed community-authored public art directly into the design of the new, climate-resilient campus.

At the heart of this work is the Hui Moʻolelo program, a community-based storytelling initiative that gathers and preserves intergenerational “talk-story” recordings rooted in place. In summer and fall 2025, a dedicated cohort of Pāʻia-connected storytellers came together under the guidance of cultural practitioner Kumu Sissy Lake-Farm to share personal narratives reflecting the area’s history, culture, and evolving relationship to land and ocean. These recordings, which include those by Pūlama Collier and Kiaʻi Collier, and Sheldon and Andrea Kealoha, now serve as the creative foundation for the public art process.

Building from this foundation, MPAC designed and led a public artist selection process, inviting applicants to ground their proposals in these recorded moʻolelo. Nearly 20 artists applied for PYCC-specific projects that included a relief or 3D installation on an external elevator shaft, powder-coated aluminum railings, permanent relief concrete columns and landscape sculptures, yielded three finalists that were awarded stipends to enter an intensive concept development phase. These artists are not working in isolation; rather, they are engaging in a structured process of listening, learning, and exchange designed to ensure their proposals are shaped by those connected to Pāʻia.

This phase has been guided by a deeply collaborative network of cultural practitioners, scientists, educators, and community leaders. Community consultants to date have included lead architect Alika Romanchak, Sissy Lake-Farm & the MPAC team, Sheldon & Andrea Kealoha, Pūlama Collier and Kiaʻi Collier, PYCC staff and board members, Tara Owens and Wes Crile of the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Program, and Dr. Lei Ishikawa, Native Hawaiian kapa practitioner, educator, and community leader.

Together, this network of contributors ensures that the resulting artworks are not simply inspired by community, but co-authored through it. MPAC’s role is to hold this process with care: facilitating consultation, translating feedback, and supporting artists as their concepts evolve in response to both ancestral knowledge and present-day youth experience.

The proposed artworks, ranging from integrated concrete column designs and narrative railing panels to sculptural, landscape, and functional outdoor elements, are being developed in phased, fundable segments aligned with PYCC’s capital campaign and construction timeline. This structure allows the project to move forward with transparency and flexibility, ensuring each phase can be realized with integrity as funding becomes available.

As of spring 2026, three complete artist proposals have been submitted and are under review, alongside a new round of artist applications through an April 2026 artist call to expand the field of possibilities. Final proposals will be presented to the PYCC Board in May 2026, with selected projects moving into contract and fundraising shortly thereafter. Installation is anticipated in 2027.

Through this process, the new PYCC will become more than a building. It will stand as a living, visual expression of Pāʻia, its histories, its tensions, its humor, and its deep sense of belonging shaped by the many voices who continue to care for and define this place.

On April 1, 2026, Maui Public Art Corps and the County of Maui unveiled the Lāhainā Think Space with a traditional blessing led by Uncle Bill Garcia and hosted by Sissy Lake-Farm, Cultural Consultant for Maui Public Art Corps & respected cultural practitioner and educator. The gathering marked the opening of a month-long interactive residency at Lahainaluna High School designed to center student voices and community storytelling as part of early conversations surrounding Lāhainā’s future memorial spaces.

Lake-Farm is the daughter of the late Kumu John K. Lake, the renowned Hawaiian historian, kumu hula, and composer of the beloved Lahainaluna song “O Kou Aloha,” written for David Malo Day in 1992. Continuing her father’s legacy of cultural stewardship, she serves as Kumu Hula of Hālau Makana Aloha O Ka Lauaʻe and teaches Hawaiian language and culture at St. Anthony School.

The Lāhainā Think Space is an immersive installation and living classroom located at Hale Naʻauao on the Lahainaluna campus. Rooted in the Hui Moʻolelo storytelling program of Maui Public Art Corps and the County of Maui, the space invites students, faculty, and staff to explore story-based public art projects while contributing their own memories, reflections, and visions for Lāhainā’s future. The exhibition design was developed in close collaboration with Maui-based creative producer Rich Tully, who spent months studying the Hui Moʻolelo: Lāhainā archive and working with the team to translate its stories into an interactive environment for memorial dialogue and learning.

Throughout April, participants can move through an interactive exhibition featuring Lāhainā story recordings within a “museum in a box”, mele, short animated films, micro-documentaries, artwork displays connected to community stories, part of the 1,000-foot long “Maui Strong” student led artwork that once lined Honoapiilani Highway, and ʻōlelo noʻeau. After engaging with the materials, students and educators are invited to share their own drawings, words, and reflections, helping expand a living archive of community knowledge and experience that will inform future public art and memorial projects.

“The Think Space is built on the idea that before we create, we must first listen,” said Kelly White, County of Maui Public Art Program Manager and Chair of Maui Public Art Corps. “Hui Moʻolelo is helping us gather and honor the stories that define Lāhainā so that future memorials and public spaces are shaped not by assumptions, but by the voices, memories, and cultural values of the people who call this place home.”

This first iteration of the Think Space is intentionally focused on the Lahainaluna school community. Students are encouraged to visit during open periods, while faculty members can bring classes to engage with the exhibition and related activities across disciplines. Staff members are also invited to participate and contribute their perspectives, reinforcing the space as a collaborative environment rooted in shared reflection and cultural learning.

“Anywhere I go, when I mention Lahainaluna, somebody has a connection and that connection is what’s special,” shares Lahainaluna Principal Richard Carosso,”I am very honored to be able to host something like this, it’s just fantastic.”

The Think Space will be open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hale Naʻauao through April 25, 2026. It will be hosted by Anuhea Yagi, who co-led the 2024 Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā program and by staff from Maui Behavioral Health Wildfire Response (MBHWR)/ Hawai’i State Department of Health and the Lahaina Comprehensive Health Center. 

While the current residency is dedicated primarily to the Lahainaluna community, Maui Public Art Corps is collecting public interest through an online form to gauge participation in a potential community open house on Saturday, April 25. If sufficient interest is received, a special public access period will be offered from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to allow community members to experience the installation and contribute their perspectives.

The Lāhainā Think Space is designed as a traveling laboratory for community storytelling and creative engagement. Following the Lahainaluna residency, the next installation is scheduled for May and June 2026 at Queen Kaʻahumanu Center, where a broader cross-section of Maui residents will be invited to explore the exhibit and participate in the Hui Moʻolelo storytelling process.

Through this evolving initiative, Maui Public Art Corps and the County of Maui aim to ensure that Lāhainā’s recovery and future memorial spaces are guided by authentic community voices, strengthening cultural continuity while honoring the memories and values that define this historic place.

More information about the Think Space and the Hui Moʻolelo program can be found at: mauipublicart.org/thinkspace.

Maui Public Art Corps, in collaboration with the County of Maui and cultural consultant Sissy Lake-Farm, is pleased to announce a new public art commission led by artist and choreographer Karli Jo List. Rooted in the Hāmākua region, the project finds its heartbeat in a Hui Moʻolelo recording featuring Hawaiian scholar, educator, and philosopher Pūlama Collier and her son, Kiaʻi Collier, Manager of ʻĀina Stewardship at Hawaiʻi Land Trust (HILT).

This commission marks a continuation of our commitment to listening first. We believe that authentic public art is not a solitary act of creation, but a collective process. It is shaped through public dialogue, refined through community relationships, and grounded in lived experience and sense of place.

The selection of Karli Jo List followed a professional vetting process, with her initial proposal reviewed by a community panel whose scores qualified her for further evaluation. This structured approach ensures that the resulting work is not a grant-funded independent project, but a true commission; a partnership between the artist, the County, and the community to steward a shared narrative.

The project’s conceptual framework is built upon the intergenerational dialogue between Pūlama and Kiaʻi. Karli Jo selected this specific recording from a menu of over 60 Hui Moʻolelo recordings, identifying its themes of guardianship and "cherishing" as the foundation for a new choreographic work. As a team, we facilitate connections between the artist and a network of community mentors and cultural consultants to ensure the movement is an extension of the land’s own rhythm.

In recent community consultations, the dialogue has focused on the accountability of the artist to the resource. Cultural steward and waterman Daniel Goldberg emphasized that land stewardship requires reciprocity rather than consumption, sharing, “If we don’t take care of the land, the land doesn’t take care of us.” He highlighted the vital importance of intergenerational knowledge transfer, noting that authentic art emerges when we prioritize learning from elders over modern technological shortcuts.

Furthering this sentiment, Pūlama and Kiaʻi have emphasized that the work must be co-authored with the community. Pūlama shared, “It’s not just our story—because once you hear the story, then it becomes your story too,” and added, “To tell a story authentically, you have to be the storyteller. You cannot be the observer. This is regardless of blood, race, or age. It’s about awareness.” They envision a “triangulation of meaning”; a weaving of movement, landscape vocabulary, and ancestral narratives. Discussing the revitalization of Maliko Bay, the group explored how art can mirror environmental resilience, shifting from degradation to collective healing. Karli Jo has been exceptionally tuned in to this demanding process, navigating the complexities of cultural accountability with deep respect for the “authentic intelligence” of the people who belong to this place.

This commitment to cultural grounding was further strengthened through consultation with Dr. Keola Donaghy, a specialist in Hawaiian language and music. Keola guided Karli Jo to root her choreography in the structural logic of mele and the sensory specificity of place, encouraging the dance to unfold like a traditional song—opening with land, deepening through local winds, rains, and histories, and closing by returning to the original theme. He shared metaphors of the hale, emphasizing land as foundation and central supports as sources of cohesion, and offered directional principles such as moving mauka to makai. Keola stressed that movement must remain inseparable from language and meaning, urging specificity over abstraction and encouraging deep place-based research so the work could be shaped by intergenerational knowledge and lived experience.

Maui Public Art Corps will invite the community to participate in this ongoing story through a series of engagement activities. This Saturday, we invite the public to join Kiaʻi Collier at his workplace for a hands-on restoration event. This is an opportunity to huli ka lima i lalo (turn the hands down to work) and care for the story that is inspiring this artwork.

Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes & Wetland Refuge Volunteer Workday
Saturday, February 14 | 8:00am–12:00pm
(Volunteers are welcome for any portion of the morning)
All ages welcome.

Participants will have the chance to meet Kiaʻi, learn about the restoration of the loko iʻa kalo in Waiheʻe, and hear the stories of place that form the bedrock of this commission.

Please bring water, snacks, and sun protection. Registration is required through the Hawaiʻi Land Trust (HILT). You can learn more and sign up HERE.

To learn more about this developing public art project, visit mauipublicart.org/collier. 

Public art isn’t about decoration. It is a living conversation that reshapes how we see ourselves and one another, and how we ground our shared sense of place into the public realm. At its best, public art emerges from the voices of a community, not from a single creator; it is protocol before product, place before performance, and connection before concept.

That is the spirit animating a forthcoming pop-up performance in Wailuku rooted in intergenerational talk-stories from Hui Mo‘olelo — Maui Public Art Corps’ signature storytelling and public art program created in partnership with the County of Maui. The performance's creative spark comes from two deeply resonant Hui Mo‘olelo recordings: Uncle Eugene Kaho‘ohanohano and Aunty Marjorie Kahalaomapuana, each in conversation with teaching artist (and son) Francis Tauʻa. But the performance is only a beginning; a place where we gather to listen together, reflect together, and talk story about who we are and where we come from.

Hui Mo‘olelo (a gathering of stories) began as a community-rooted effort to capture lived experience through intergenerational talk-story recordings. Participants engage in workshops and then sit with kūpuna and neighbors to record narratives that anchor identity to specific places across Maui County. More than memories, these recordings are raw material for public art that foregrounds voice, memory, culture and aloha. 

Over recent years, Hui Mo‘olelo has grown from a local storytelling initiative into a dynamic public art reservoir that informs murals, exhibitions, animated films, utility box art, mele, and performance. Currently, our Hui Mo‘olelo: Kahului exhibit at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center provides open access to talk-stories through portraits and QR-linked audio, inviting broader engagement and prompting visitors to listen before they interpret. 

Artist Lee Cataluna’s working draft script Tasty Crust draws on the cadence of everyday talk — breakfast conversations where Marjorie and Eugene share “small kid time” memories in Happy Valley and Waihe‘e, reflecting on childhood, care, work, respect, and Maui’s evolving landscape. Critically, the performance is not an auteur’s soliloquy, but rather a shared site of exchange. Her role is to be a vessel for the stories and community ties that have already been revealed through Francis' participation in Hui Mo‘olelo. The voices of he and his parents are not “inspiration” in the abstract; they are the living source material from which the performance must grow. Any adaptation of these stories must honor their nuance, rhythm, and care for place and people.

The community is invited to help shape this performance in two key ways:

1. Host a Workshop: Organizations, cultural groups, and community hubs are invited to gather for read-throughs, feedback sessions or hands-on arts activities that share your own depictions of what was heard in the recordings. These sessions foster dialogue between storytellers, place-keepers, and the performance team. 
2. Take the Survey: Contribute to how the performance is structured, staged, and understood by sharing reflections through this brief survey. 

What Public Art Means in This Context

Public art in this community-driven model is:

• Rooted in Place: Anchored in the lived stories and memories of kūpuna, families, youth, and residents.
• Dialogic: Always a conversation, never a finished object, the art invites response and ongoing participation.
• Transformative: Helping communities see their histories and futures as interconnected. 

To the people of Wailuku, let this project shape the breath of a community remembering itself and its shared hopes for the future. 

Note: While this specific project is no longer moving forward, we remain committed to honoring the community stories highlighted throughout this process. We extend our sincere gratitude to the artist for their beautiful proposal and collaboration.

Launching in November 2025, Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center (QKC) will host the new Hui Mo‘olelo: Kahului Exhibition, bringing Kahului stories and memories to life. General Manager Kauwela Bisquera Shultz, who participated in a past Hui Mo‘olelo cohort and whose own talk-story with Aunty Kekoa Enomoto inspired the Ka Wahine o Kekoa mural in 2022, first saw the Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā Exhibition at the Lahaina Cannery in a recent news article. She was inspired by the depth and beauty of the work and eagerly agreed to host a similar exhibition in Kahului, reaffirming QKC as a meaningful partner and returning sponsor of this community-driven program.

Christina Wine Returns With New Portraits
Christina Wine, the talented artist with whom we collaborated on the Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā Exhibition, was commissioned to expand her series of portraits - this time highlighting Kahului storytellers. Born and raised in Waiehu, and a graduate of Baldwin High School and UH Hilo, Wine’s career spans marine science, environmental education, sailing, and maritime systems. Her artistic path began with a quiet teacher who showed her the fundamentals of drawing in a single weekend, breaking through language barriers. This early lesson shaped her signature no-erase, Zen calligraphy style, in which each line is committed and every “mistake” is part of the whole. Christina reflects, “I’m grateful to everyone who has received my art, whether it’s a framed painting or just a lesson remembered in the heart.”

Wine’s new portraits focus on Kahului, with each storyteller exploring deep connection to place, culture, and community in their own voice that viewers can access via QR codes. Her family recently visited the Lāhainā exhibition and spent time sitting in the chairs provided to scan the codes and listen to the stories. She shared, “It is so positive and meaningful. Isn’t it nicer to listen to a local fisherman than a full day of doom and gloom on the news? Thank you for providing this for our community.”

Meet the Kahului Storytellers
The portraits on display reflect a wide spectrum of community voices and intergenerational experiences, including:

• Joyce Kawahara, Kahului Elementary, and Dean Tokishi, Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission
• Bruce U‘u and Nohelani U‘u-Hodgins, Hawaiian Canoe Club, Ho‘aloha Park
• Uncle William Garcia, Jr. and Pualani Enos, UH Mānoa Matsunaga Institute for Peace
• Jeanette Nalani Kaauamo of Wailuanui and Lopaka White, Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission
• Andrew Chin, ʻĪao Intermediate School ukulele instructor, and his stepfather Michael Takemoto
• Kaho‘iwai Belsom, attorney, and Jocelyn Romero Demirbag, Ed.D., University of Hawaii Foundation
• Kekoa Enomoto, ʻAhahui Ka‘ahumanu and Chairwoman of Pa‘upena Community Development Corporation, and Kauwela Bisquera Shultz, QKC General Manager
• Waterman John McCandless and Dean Tokishi, Ocean Resources Specialist
• Sissy Lake-Farm and Lopaka White, discussing Hawaiian Canoe Club

Each panel includes portraits by Christina Wine and captures the unique stories, memories, and perspectives shared in the Hui Mo‘olelo recordings, connecting viewers to Kahului’s sense of place.

Engaging With Story and Community
Visitors can listen to the original talk-stories using QR codes, deepening their understanding of each subject’s connection to land, ocean, and community. The exhibition emphasizes intergenerational learning, cultural perpetuation, and moments of humor amongst Maui residents. Having just completed its 6th storytelling cohort, Maui Public Art Corps will release its next call for public art proposals in partnership with the County of Maui to interpret any talk-story recording from its Hui Mo‘olelo archive into collaborative works, including the stories on display at Hui Mo‘olelo: Kahului. Visit mauipublicart.org/apply for details. 

Celebrating Place and Memory
This exhibition continues the Hui Mo‘olelo program's mission to connect, preserve and share local voices through art and storytelling. Christina Wine’s portraits, together with the recorded talk-stories, offer a lens into the lived experiences of Kahului residents, honoring their heritage, work, and care for place. Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center’s participation highlights the power of local partnerships in creating meaningful, reflective spaces for art, story, and community to intersect.

For artists interested in joining the Local Artist Roster for future Maui Public Art Corps/ Maui County Public Art Program commissions, visit mauipublicart.org/roster.

A new public art exhibition honoring voices of Lāhainā has been unveiled at Lahaina Cannery. Installed on September 30, 2025, Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā is a collaborative effort of the County of Maui’s Public Art Program, Maui Public Art Corps, and Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

Maui Public Art Corps commissioned artist Christina Wine through a Maui Strong grant, who also serves as Ocean Resource Specialist for the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC), to create 21 watercolor portraits of Lāhainā community members that participated in the Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā storytelling project. Wine proposed these portraits through the County of Maui and Maui Public Art Corps' most recent call for artist proposals, and her vision has transformed the Cannery into a place where portraits of kūpuna stand beside their voices and words of wisdom.

“Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā is a gathering of voices — a weaving of stories born from the heart of a community forever changed,” shares Kelly White, Chair of Maui Public Art Corps and Manager of the County of Maui’s Public Art Program. “To see them come alive at Lahaina Cannery means these voices will continue to guide us in rebuilding a future rooted in aloha and belonging.”

A Storytelling Tradition
Launched in response to the August 2023 wildfires, Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā brings together the efforts of Maui Public Art Corps, Lahaina Restoration Foundation, and the County of Maui.

In summer 2024, cultural historian Kalapana Kollars and Hawaiian life ways practitioner Anuhea Yagi guided a cohort of Lāhainā storytellers in recording intergenerational stories of life in the community — recollections that spanned hukilau at Launiupoko, fishing ʻōpelu at Mala, lantern ceremonies at the Jodo Mission, and the hum of Front Street. Recorded stories went on to inspire nine public artworks across Maui and Oʻahu to date: five animated film shorts, one utility box artwork, and three mural installations. Together, they serve as testaments to healing, connection and cultural continuity.

This 2024 Hui Mo‘olelo program was made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, whose support helped bring these stories to life and share them with the community.

Today, Hui Mo‘olelo continues to provide opportunities for community connection and place-based art grounded in local voice. We have just completed our most recent cohort and are preparing to release the next Request for Proposals (RFP) in fall 2025. An upcoming Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā cohort will be led by Kaliko Storer.

The Artist Behind the Portraits
Born and raised in Waiehu, Wine is a Baldwin High School and UH Hilo graduate whose career has spanned marine science, sailing, environmental education, and maritime systems before returning home to Maui.

Reflecting on her artistic journey, Wine recalls an unlikely teacher: “As a teenager, I met a quiet, deaf artist who, in a single weekend, broke through language barriers to show me the fundamentals of how to draw. I never stopped after that. Over time I adopted a no-erase, Zen-calligraphy style — each line committed, each mistake part of the whole. I’m grateful to everyone who has received my art, whether it’s a framed painting or just a lesson remembered in the heart.”

Wine now brings that spirit of openness and gratitude to her portraits of Lāhainā kūpuna, offering visual windows into stories of resilience, tradition and belonging.

A Living Space for Healing
The Lahaina Cannery has become a focal point for gathering, remembrance, and healing since the wildfires. By hosting this exhibition, the Cannery continues its role as a hub for cultural programming, local markets, and civic engagement.

Visitors can experience the portraits alongside quotations that reflect Lāhainā’s strength and hopes for the future. QR codes connect viewers directly to recorded stories and public artworks inspired by these voices throughout Maui.

The Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā exhibition is free and open to the public through the month of September.
Learn more: mauipublicart.org/lahainamoolelo.

Following our second Hui Mo‘olelo 2025 session, cohort members were invited to record a self-recorded mo‘olelo on a topic of their choosing. This practice helps model for upcoming intergenerational talk-story partners the same spirit of honesty and generosity we are asking of them.

What emerged from these recordings was a deep intertwining of love for nature and home with personal passion, spiritual grounding, and community connection. For many, Maui is not just a place but a source of identity and belonging, compelling them toward service, tradition, and shared purpose.

Iokepa Cabanilla-Aricayos spoke of how his passion always returns to nature and home. Born and raised on Maui, even a brief time living on the mainland intensified his gratitude for being from Hawai‘i and confirmed his sense of identity. Tina Kailiponi described moving 25 times as a child before coming to Maui, where she finally felt settled and discovered her “tribe.” Liana Horovitz recalled her childhood in upper Kula, walking two miles uphill through black wattle forests to her family’s carnation farm, where the smell of her mother’s fresh bread marked the end of the journey home.

Nature is more than a backdrop in these stories. It is a source of grounding and a spiritual connection. For Iokepa, this began early, nurtured by his hula-teacher mother and landscaper father. When he needs to feel grounded, he goes to places like ʻĪao Valley or simply puts his bare feet in the sand, the dirt, or the water. Even when living far from Maui, he sought out streams and trails, feeling a spiritual need to connect with the earth. He believes people must take care of nature because it nourishes us physically, spiritually and emotionally and is a priceless treasure to pass to future generations.

This connection manifests through tradition. Iokepa creates lei and flower arrangements as a way to mark important moments, from graduations to funerals, filling himself with a sense of meaning. The fragrance and color of flowers, he says, seal memories and create core experiences that stay with us. His first inspired lei, made for his grandfather, bridged his Hawaiian and Filipino heritage and embodied the spirit of ʻohana. He now works to instill this connection in his children and grandchildren, believing that even the smallest act, like a child picking a flower for a friend, keeps this bond alive.

That sense of belonging also drives a passion for community service. Tina spoke of feeling that being embraced by Maui gives her the responsibility to give back. She serves with the Maui Food Bank and sees the entire island as her ʻohana. This emphasis on shared value and connection aligns with the reflections of Francis Tauʻa, who links passion to choosing wisely where to place value and finding joy in connection. Francis reminds us that in a world designed to provoke reaction, focusing on what truly matters allows community support to emerge naturally. He shared the story of a group of first graders who stopped their conflicts to help a friend search for a lost Pokémon jibbitz, their joy erupting when it was found. This simple but powerful moment revealed how shared purpose can turn even divided groups into a vessel for collective joy.

Naomi Tokishi offered another powerful expression of passion through collective effort. She described her experience in the Maui High School Color Guard, where she and her teammates trained for months, practicing twelve hours a week in preparation to compete in California against much larger bands. Despite the exhaustion and challenge, the moment they performed together —hitting every beat, matching the music, and seeing each other shine, was one of pride and exhilaration. When they won first place overall, Naomi and her teammates wept and embraced, overwhelmed by the power of shared success. This experience of perseverance, discipline, and community triumph mirrors the ʻohana spirit described by Iokepa and Tina, showing that passion and belonging grow strongest when pursued together.

These mo‘olelo show that for many, love for Maui and nature is inseparable from the call to serve, protect, and connect. They remind us that each story is a thread in the larger fabric of community, helping us see the richness of where we come from and the responsibilities we carry forward.

Learn more at mauipublicart.org/cohort25.

Maui Public Art Corps, in partnership with the County of Maui, is proud to welcome the sixth annual cohort of Hui Mo‘olelo:

• Andrea Kealoha, Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
  
• Kia’i Collier, Waihee Manager, Hawaii Land Trust
  
• Nalani Kalama-Kaikala, Registered Nurse, MMMC
• Tina Kailiponi, Maui Food Bank
• Kepa Cabanilla-Aricayos, King’s Maui Experience Director
• Naomi Tokishi, Maui High Student
• Francis Taua, Maui Performing Artist & Teaching Artist
• Liana Horovitz, Assistant Professor, History, University of Hawaiʻi Maui College.

The cohort will be guided by Sissy Lake-Farm, Maui Public Art Corps’ Cultural Director and kumu hula of Hālau Makana Aloha O Ka Lauaʻe.

For six years now, Hui Mo‘olelo has brought together people from across the county to record intergenerational talk-stories. These conversations, rooted in place, capture the spirit, memories, and identity of Maui County in ways that can be passed on to future generations. They also become the foundation for new works of public art. Later this year, artists will be invited to interpret selected stories into performances, murals and other creative expressions, creating a cycle of storytelling and art that begins with the community itself. As Sissy Lake-Farm put it, “The artists come. But we provide them with the tools. They have expertise and ideas. But it’s about us here and it’s about the stories that we provide… It’s rooted in us and that’s the difference.”

The new cohort gathered for its first training session this week, and the energy in the space was joyful. Participants shared personal journeys that ranged from ocean science to health care, food security, teaching, and the performing arts. Maui Food Bank’s Tina Kailiponi, who also directs youth theater, admitted she had been waiting for this moment: “Maybe one day, one day they’re going to ask me. And then—Yay. Thank you for having me. I am super excited for this opportunity.” Performer and teaching artist Francis Taua shared a similar feeling: “I’m so happy to be part of things like this where we get to actually be part of or give back to our community.”

Every talk-story recording made through Hui Mo‘olelo is archived through StoryCorps at the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center, adding Maui County voices to a growing national collection of oral histories. The program’s impact has been recognized with national support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Mayor Richard Bissen has noted how it reflects the generosity of our kūpuna, saying, “These grants are a testament to the dedication and creativity of our community, as well as the generosity shown by our kūpuna to share precious memories and knowledge about Maui County places, customs, natural resources, and events.”

As this sixth cohort begins its journey, the purpose of Hui Mo‘olelo remains beautifully simple: to honor the voices of our community, preserve them with care, and carry them forward through the power of art.

Learn more about Hui Mo‘olelo at mauipublicart.org/hui-moolelo.

Meet this cohort at mauipublicart.org/cohort25.

When people think of Maui Public Art Corps, many picture a mural. And yes, murals are part of our story. They’re beautiful, familiar and easy to spot. But murals are just one chapter in a much larger book we’re writing together. The real heart of what we do beats quietly, in small rooms, with small groups of people who show up not always knowing the full “why”. That’s where Hui Mo‘olelo begins.

Hui Mo‘olelo isn’t a training or a class, not really. It’s more of a commitment, a gentle rite of passage that asks something vulnerable from you: your presence. Over three two-hour gatherings, small cohorts — usually no more than ten people, learn not just how to tell stories, but how to listen for them, how to hold space for them, and how to be changed by them. People arrive curious but unsure. Why meet three times? Why not just get instructions and carry on? But as the sessions unfold, something shifts. You find yourself telling stories aloud to near-strangers, and in doing so, you realize how much generosity storytelling actually takes. And when the time comes to sit down with a recording partner (a family member, a kupuna, someone whose story might otherwise fade), you’re ready, not because you memorized a checklist, but because you’ve learned to listen from a place of respect and courage.

When these intergenerational stories are gathered, Maui Public Art Corps doesn’t file them away. Instead, we work with a team of editors who carefully choose short excerpts—just two or three minutes, from each recording. These become the seed for a different kind of creativity: public art. Artists from around the world listen to these community voices and vie for the chance to bring them to life through murals, performances, experiences, installations and more. It’s important to understand: these aren’t “artist projects.” They’re community projects. The artist is just one part of the puzzle.

Hui Mo‘olelo is co-owned, every step of the way. The teaching artists who guide the cohort. The cohort members who show up and lean into discomfort. The intergenerational partners who trust us with their stories. The artists who listen deeply before they create. And, just as critically, the hundreds of community members who join the process along the way, from deciding where these artworks should happen – where they can transform spaces into places that feel like they belong to all of us, to hosting open workshops that develop each proposal into a work deeply rooted in sense of place. 

Right now, we’re looking for those spaces. We’re asking you to help. Do you know a park, a plaza, a walking path, or an overlooked corner in your neighborhood that feels like it could hold a mural, a pop-up performance, a community workshop? We’re seeking places across Maui County—public spaces, or privately-owned spaces open to the public (POPS), where new stories can be planted in 2026. You can nominate a site or suggest your own through a short survey we’re collecting now. Think of places that are accessible, open, welcoming, and not tied to the benefit of a single business or home. Places where people pass through without needing to spend a dollar. Places that could mean something more.

This is why public art exists. Not to decorate, but to make our neighborhoods more livable. To create spaces that invite conversation, curiosity, connection. To make visible the stories that hold us together.

If you feel curious about joining our next Hui Mo‘olelo cohort, know that what we’re asking isn’t small, but it is simple. We’re asking for your voice, your time, your presence. And in return, you’ll help carry forward the stories that shape Maui’s future.

Because Hui Mo‘olelo is more than murals. It’s about people. And we hope you’ll join us.

Preserving Our Stories at the Library of Congress: Through our collaboration with StoryCorps, all Hui Mo‘olelo recordings are published to the StoryCorps Archive and preserved at the American Folklife Center (AFC) of the Library of Congress, ensuring availability to future generations of researchers and historians. These recordings are processed and securely stored by StoryCorps before being transferred to the Library of Congress for long-term preservation. While the StoryCorps collection at the Library is currently a closed collection and not accessible to the public on-site, you can access these interviews through archive.storycorps.org/user/mauipublicart and archive.storycorps.org/user/stba. By participating, we are contributing to a growing national archive that reflects the diverse voices and experiences of people across the United States.