Molokai High School Unveils New Murals

Photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

As students walked into Molokai High School in Hoʻolehua for the start of the new school year last week, many were surprised by colorful newly painted murals all over the campus.

“We didn’t have a concrete plan,” artist Kala‘e Tangonan said, adding the conceptual design evolved while the murals were being created during summer break. “That’s the magic of creating murals.”

The main creative mind behind the project covering roughly 500 square feet of walls, Tangonan said the idea of the progression of the murals on campus was to resemble an ahupua‘a — an ancient traditional Hawaiian land division from the mountain to the sea. 

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the late art teacher Howard Selnick oversaw the painting of a series of vibrant murals at the school. They lasted for many years — and even became a tourist attraction — until they were painted over at least a decade ago.

“Basically, you’re just looking at a concept that we always had, and then it went away, and we brought it back in a new form,” Tangonan said.

Principal Katina Soares said the new murals aim to build school pride among students and enhance their environment. 

The murals depict two giant lei over the school’s facade, wrapping over Molokai’s many ahupua‘a. The lei greet the students as they come to class, and also as they go home, Tangonan said.

As the lei continue toward the hallway leading to the patio and classrooms, they morph into two moʻo — mystical shapeshifting lizards in old Hawaiian tales. The mo‘o, Tangonan said, act as protectors of the school.

Progressing over the campus, there are many flowers, a loʻi full of kalo and a pueo, or Hawaiian owl, adorning the walls. On the upper part of the campus, Molokai’s forest is represented with iliahi, kukui trees, Molokai hibiscus and ulu.

“The idea and the concept of ulu is to grow,” Tangonan said. “We always want everybody to grow and move and be better than they are.”

Photo by Léo Azambuja

The deer are also present throughout a good chunk of the forest portion of the mural.

“Somebody said, you guys gotta put the deer. So, we started going off with the deer, because they were super cool looking up on the wall,” Tangonan said.

Soares said the idea for the ahupua‘a concept — depicting the island’s cultural heritage and resources from the mountain to the sea — came from the school’s motto and last graduation theme, “Farmers of Land and Sea.” 

The work on the mural was done over the summer, but the conceptualizing started earlier in the year. Tangonan did some of the design and shared the conceptual idea with students, so they would have some ownership over what would be happening at the school, Soares said. The mural’s underpainting, at second glance, reveals thousands of handprints done by school children and community members.

During summer, Tangonan invited two artists from Oahu — Prime and Kealakukui Mahone — to help with the mural. Altogether, around 100 volunteers helped to bring the murals to life. Much of the painting took place in the evenings, sometimes late at night, fueled by music and pizza.

“It’s really, really nice that the community also openly embraced the process,” Tangonan said.

Though the murals are ready, Soares said their official inauguration will be Aug. 28 at 4 p.m.

Everyone who worked on the project did it as a volunteer. The paint was bought through a grant for the school’s WIN (What I Need) program, where children pick non-credit activities.

Visit www.molokaiartscenter.org and look for the QR code on their front page to donate to the mural.