Art

Visual and performance arts stories on Molokai

Watercolor in Halawa

Wednesday, July 13th, 2022

Watercolor in Halawa

MAC News Release

The Molokai Arts Center returns to Halawa Valley for an afternoon of watercolors and fresh smoothies inspired by Molokai’s natural bounty. Come learn Landscape/Floral Watercolor Painting. This class will be offered every third Sunday of the month and the next class will be on Sunday, July 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Local artist Kalani Pruet, who prefers on-location nature observation and color mixing, will teach a three-hour class right in his backyard. The class includes a smoothie and a painting demonstration. If you’re lucky, you’ll also get to taste fresh chocolates made from the cacao trees on his farm. Kalani will share fundamental watercolor techniques such as landscape sketching, silhouette and outline drawing, watercolor tiling and blending or layering methods.…

Murals Memorialize Teacher Retirement

Wednesday, June 29th, 2022

Murals Memorialize Teacher Retirement

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Perry Buchalter started teaching art at Molokai High School 25 years ago and entered into a blank classroom. One of his first projects with his students was to paint a mural. 

“When I began teaching, I walked into my first classroom in B-104 which had tables and chairs and absolutely no art supplies,” Buchalter recalled. “It was such a small classroom and as I hustled to get supplies, I took my class out to paint a mural between S and T wings.”

He wrote grants for art supplies so his students could access quality supplies without paying a fee.…

June Arts Programs

Wednesday, June 8th, 2022

June Arts Programs

MAC News Release

April showers brought May flowers and at the Molokai Arts Center (MAC), programs sprung open with a kanaka maoli Artist in Residence, a Balinese painter/dancer, accomplished musicians Galliard String Quartet with Molokai Instrumental Music Education (MIME) Septet and a surprise guest from Europe.

Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, who was recently featured at the Lahaina Noon program at Honolulu Civic Center, spent a couple of weeks on Molokai completing a music composition for her residency. Her next big project is an opera based on the works of Queen Lili’uokalani. The East-West Center partnered with the MAC to bring Balinese painter and dancer I Made Moja to Molokai.…

Kupuna Portrait Project

Thursday, May 19th, 2022

Kupuna Portrait Project

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

A series of portraits painted of Molokai kupuna seeks to capture more than just a picture. Fifteen oil paintings of hulu kupuna, the island’s most esteemed elders, have been painted by artist Vonnie Brenno Cameron, in collaboration with Molokai based nonprofit Hui o Kuapa led by Maile and Hanohano Naehu. Each portrait, captured during talk story sessions over the past several years, tells a story and speaks to the mo’olelo held by the kupuna. 

Na Hulu Kupuna Project began four years ago, when Cameron, a kanaka maoli painter living in California, sought to reconnect with her great grandmother’s roots on Molokai.…

Fiber Art Deadline

Thursday, May 19th, 2022

Hawaii Craftsmen News Release 

The deadline for Hawaii Craftsmen biennial juried art exhibition, Fiber Hawaii 2022, is looming. The last day to register is June 3. Molokai artists have the option of having their work juried by photograph or mailing the work for jurying in person.  Artists who wish to submit photos for jurying may submit two to three photos of their work by May 23. Accepted entries can then be mailed to the Downtown Art Center to arrive by June 3rd. Artists who prefer to have their work juried in person can mail their work to the DAC to arrive on or before June 3rd in order to be considered for jurying. …

Molokai Artists’ Historic Honolulu Show

Wednesday, May 11th, 2022

Molokai Artists’ Historic Honolulu Show

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Highlighted against white gallery walls, pedestals and glass cases, Molokai art is taking Oahu by storm in the largest ever group exhibition of Molokai artists in Honolulu, at the Downtown Art Center. The historic show, called No Stop Light: Molokai, opened last Friday and will remain on exhibit until Saturday, May 28. 

Twelve Molokai artists are represented, using mediums varying from bone to cloth, clay and paint, photography and coconut leaves, beads and wood. A diverse group of kama’aina and newcomers to the island, the artists utilize contemporary, traditional and cultural styles to highlight their work and represent Molokai in a stunning gallery display.…

Bali Painting Workshop

Thursday, May 5th, 2022

Bali Painting Workshop

MAC News Release 

The Molokai Arts Center (MAC) is excited to collaborate with the East-West Center (EWC). The EWC Gallery’s April exhibition “Living Legacies: Paintings and Performances of Bali” featured both visual and performing arts of Batuan, Bali. Most of the paintings highlighted in the EWC Gallery exhibition were by artist I Madé Budi and his son I Madé Moja.

Moja is a painter, dancer, puppet maker and shadow-play artist from the village of Batuan, a traditional arts village in Bali known for its classical music and dance, fine woodcarving, and unique painting style. Batuan-style painting is unique from other regional styles and particularly famous for its darker color tones and magical themes.…

Statewide Craftsmen Exhibition

Thursday, May 5th, 2022

Hawaii Craftsmen News Release 

Hawaii Craftsmen is excited to announce that the 2022 exhibition will travel from Oahu to Maui.  The exhibition will begin on Oahu at the Downtown Art Center in mid-October, and then travel to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center Schafer Gallery through December. Molokai artists are invited to submit their work, and jurying will be held in person on Molokai in August. 

The 2022 juror will be Neida Bangerter, who is the director of the world-class Schaefer International Gallery at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center (MACC). As an artist, educator, curator and gallery director, Ms. Bangerter is uniquely qualified to bring her range of expertise, as well as her sensitivity to the tradition of contemporary Hawaii craft to the jurying process.…

Congrats, Artists

Thursday, May 5th, 2022

I would like to extend a hearty congratulations and best of luck to the Na Heona (artists) of Molokai who are participating in a group exhibition called, “No Stop Light: Molokai.”

This is the largest group exhibition by Molokai artists in Honolulu at the Downtown Art Center during the month of May. This is an exhibition featuring the works of contemporary and traditional artists, with sculpture, fiber, wood, ceramic, photography, painting and jewelry created on Molokai. 

The participants are: Arabella Ark, Dan Bennett, PF Bentley, Anna Fuernsteiner, Patti Golebieski, Ikaika Bishaw-Juario, U’i Kahue Cabating, Victor Lopez, Kim Markham, Carol Rocha, Kala’e Tangonan and Nan Walters.…

New Artist in Residence

Thursday, April 28th, 2022

New Artist in Residence

MAC News Release 

The Molokai Arts Center (MAC) Artist in Residence (AIR) program is back! Two years ago, poet and prose writer Frances McCue’s two-week residency turned into months as the pandemic hit, quarantine was ordered and travel became restricted. We are pleased to once again be able to provide visiting artists with a respite from daily responsibilities to enable them to concentrate on their work. Musician and composer Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti will be on Molokai from April 25 to May 6 to work on two commissioned projects — one for solo oboe and another for a violin and viola duo.

Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti is a Kanaka Maoli musician dedicated to the arts of our time.…