POP-UP PERFORMANCE: Anthony Pfluke

Coming in June 2023, Nā Hōkū Hanohano finalist Anthony Pfluke will perform a 30-minute public pop-up performance featuring original songs inspired by both Kahoʻolawe and Wailuku. Following a 4-day trip to Kahoʻolawe, which is only accessible through volunteer work accesses with either the ​Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission or the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana, Anthony will work closely with community members with special ties to this place to create music that celebrates its unique character and stories. A one-time-only/ pop-up performance will be scheduled in Wailuku Town as part of the SMALL TOWN * BIG ART initiative, which will additionally feature original music celebrating its distinctive sense of place, history and culture. Join our eNewsletter list for developing details. 

"If I’m granted the opportunity to create a mele for Kahoʻolawe and Wailuku, I’m excited to discuss and receive mana‘o and ‘ike from nā kūpuna of these places, in order to properly weave together the mele. I intend to write most of the songs in ‘Ōlelo Hawai’i, if not all, but through the process of talking with kūpuna and all involved in the project, the identity of the songs will be found." 
Photos of Pfluke at the April '23 volunteer Kahoʻolawe access in partnership with the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission 
Picture
Community Consultation with Kaponoʻai Molitau
Picture
‘Ōlelo No‘eau meeting with Sissy Lake-Farm

Project Timeline

  • 6/16/23: Pop-up performance (Kīpuka Square, Wailuku, next to the historic ʻĪao Theater)
  • 6/15/23: Waihe'e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge huakaʻi with Hawaiʻi Land Trust Chief Conservation Officer Scott Fisher, Ph.D
  • 6/2/23: Pop-up performance by Anthony Pfluke with songs inspired by Wailuku and Kahoʻolawe (Maui Now)
  • 6/2/23: Press Release (READ)
  • 5/30/23: Anthony to confirm ‘Ōlelo No‘eau, selected in partnership with Sissy Lake-Farm and community
  • ​5/23/23: Pop-Up Performance Save-the-Date (READ)
  • 5/16/23: Community consultation with Kumu Hula Kaponoʻai Molitau, Owner of Native Intelligence, a Cultural resource center guised as retail in the heart of Wailuku Town. Kahuna Nui of Puʻukoholā Heiau And Kumu Hula of Nā Hanona Kūlike ʻO Piʻilani on the Island of Maui​
  • 4/24/23: Anthony participates in 4-day volunteer access of the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve, in partnership with the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission, in order to create music that is reflective of the Island's history, culture and sense of place 
  • 4/4/23: ‘Ōlelo No‘eau meeting with Sissy Lake-Farm of Hale Hō‘ike‘ike at the Bailey House/ Maui Historical Society (WATCH)
  • 3/22/23: Artist orientation meeting
  • 3/15/23: Anthony's proposal is selected by Maui Public Art Corps/ SMALL TOWN * BIG ART. The team commissions Anthony to create a 20-30 minute set of original music that is steeped in the history, culture and sense of place of A) Kahoʻolawe and B) Wailuku, to be performed live in Wailuku Town in June 2023.