Seeking Public Participation

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.

Public Art Site Application

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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.