Hui Mo‘olelo: Kahului Exhibit
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Launching in November 2025, Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center (QKC) will host the Hui Mo‘olelo: Kahului Exhibition, inviting visitors into the rich story-world of Kahului.
Drawn from a growing archive of more than 60 Hui Mo‘olelo recordings, this exhibition highlights nine talk-stories specifically centered on Kahului; its people, its places, and its enduring sense of community. Each story is brought to life through hand-painted portraits by Maui artist Christina Wine, depicting participants who shared their memories and perspectives through recorded talk-story. Every portrait, featuring voices ranging from kūpuna and educators to cultural practitioners and environmental stewards, is paired with a QR code linking to the storyteller’s original recording, along with a distilled summary prepared by the Maui Public Art Corps team. This collaborative exhibition marks the newest chapter of the Hui Mo‘olelo program, created through partnership with Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center, Maui Public Art Corps, local schools, cultural organizations, and county agencies. By offering direct access to lived memory, the project strengthens intergenerational connection, island identity, and art-driven community engagement. Above all, it is a celebration of Kahului’s unique and vibrant sense of place. |
Hui Mo‘olelo: Kahului highlights stories of this place — an area shaped by sand dune landscapes, plantation-era history, and deep ties to ocean culture. The storytellers represented here share memories that reflect Kahului’s enduring sense of place and the people who continue to shape it. We invite you to join a future Hui Mo‘olelo cohort and add your own intergenerational Maui story to this ongoing effort. |
Meet the Storytellers
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Meet the Artist
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Artist Christina Wine, who created the acclaimed portrait series for the Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā Exhibition, returns with a new body of work celebrating Kahului storytellers.
Born and raised in Waiehu, a Baldwin High and UH Hilo graduate, Wine’s eclectic background spans marine science, environmental education, sailing, and maritime systems. Her artistic path began with a single transformative weekend of drawing instruction—a lesson that shaped her no-erase, Zen calligraphy–inspired style, where every line remains and every so-called mistake becomes part of the whole. Wine shares, “I’m grateful to everyone who has received my art, whether it’s a framed painting or just a lesson remembered in the heart.” Her portraits invite viewers to sit, listen, and connect. Each piece includes a QR code linking to the storytellers’ original talk-story—moments of humor, memory, reflection, and deep place-based knowledge. After visiting the Lāhainā exhibition with her family, Wine noted, “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.” |
What Is Hui Mo‘olelo?
A Community Storytelling and Public Art Resource
Hui Mo‘olelo is a collaborative storytelling program designed to gather, preserve, and honor the lived experiences of Maui’s people and to celebrate the unique Maui neighborhoods that each calls home. Through facilitated, intergenerational talk-story sessions, the program brings together kūpuna, educators, practitioners, cultural leaders, students, and everyday residents to share personal history and connection to place. These recordings become a public art resource, inspiring murals, exhibitions, sculptures, and collaborative works across the island. By involving many hands—artists, historians, youth, cultural advisors, nonprofits, county partners, businesses, and families—Hui Mo‘olelo builds bridges between generations and helps communities reconnect through shared memory.
Hui Mo‘olelo is a collaborative storytelling program designed to gather, preserve, and honor the lived experiences of Maui’s people and to celebrate the unique Maui neighborhoods that each calls home. Through facilitated, intergenerational talk-story sessions, the program brings together kūpuna, educators, practitioners, cultural leaders, students, and everyday residents to share personal history and connection to place. These recordings become a public art resource, inspiring murals, exhibitions, sculptures, and collaborative works across the island. By involving many hands—artists, historians, youth, cultural advisors, nonprofits, county partners, businesses, and families—Hui Mo‘olelo builds bridges between generations and helps communities reconnect through shared memory.
Artwork Panels
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Visitors are invited to approach the exhibit, scan a QR code, and listen to each storyteller’s original talk-story; deepening their understanding of the speaker’s relationship to place and community. The exhibition highlights intergenerational learning, cultural perpetuation, and the powerful sense of place that emerges when art and story meet. By pairing Christina Wine’s portraits with the storytellers’ own words, the Hui Mo‘olelo: Kahului Exhibition offers an intimate window into the relationships, labor, and love that shape life in Kahului.
This installation continues Hui Mo‘olelo’s core work to connect, preserve, and share local voices through collaborative community partnerships. As the program recently completed its sixth storytelling cohort, Maui Public Art Corps has distributed a new call for public art proposals in partnership with the County of Maui—inviting artists to interpret any Hui Mo‘olelo recording, including those featured here, into future works. For artists interested in participating, visit mauipublicart.org/apply or explore the Local Artist Roster at mauipublicart.org/roster. Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center’s ongoing partnership underscores the collective commitment to creating spaces where Maui residents can see themselves reflected, respected, and remembered.
This installation continues Hui Mo‘olelo’s core work to connect, preserve, and share local voices through collaborative community partnerships. As the program recently completed its sixth storytelling cohort, Maui Public Art Corps has distributed a new call for public art proposals in partnership with the County of Maui—inviting artists to interpret any Hui Mo‘olelo recording, including those featured here, into future works. For artists interested in participating, visit mauipublicart.org/apply or explore the Local Artist Roster at mauipublicart.org/roster. Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center’s ongoing partnership underscores the collective commitment to creating spaces where Maui residents can see themselves reflected, respected, and remembered.
Project Timeline
- 10/5/25: QKC affirms interest in hosting MPAC's Hui Mo‘olelo: Kahului Exhibit; MOU with cost-share is executed on 10/16/25
- 10/7/25: Artist Christina Wine begins work on Kahului storyteller portraits
- 10/23/25: Hui Mo‘olelo Portraits Bring Kahului Voices to Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center (READ)
- 10/24/25: Call for Artists + Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā Film Fest + New Exhibitions (READ)
- 10/24/25: Christina Wine completes portraits; Kelly completes copy; submit to print
- 11/17/25: Projected artwork delivery date
- 11/21/25: Exhibition installation (In common mall area outside of Macy's Men's Department/ bus stop entrance)
- 11/24/25: Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā Film Fest This Saturday + New Exhibit + Application Deadline This Sunday (eNewsletter)
- 11/24/25: Hui Moʻolelo: Lahaina Film Fest this Saturday; new exhibit; application deadline nears (Maui Now)
- 11/26/25: Queen Kaʻahumanu Center Hosts the Hui Moʻolelo: Kahului Exhibition (Maui Now)
- 12/11/25: Special unveiling event at the exhibition site featuring the storytellers, to be emceed by cultural consultant Sissy Lake-Farm (Needs: Sissy, storytellers, artist, seating, sound, lei, program)
- 3/31/26: Exhibition end date