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.