Contemporary island art featured in ‘Contact 2016’

For
 the
 third
 year,
 Pu‘uhonua
 Society’s
 Maoli
 Arts
 Alliance
 is
 presenting 
its 
juried 
contemporary 
art 
exhibition “Contact 2016.” The 
exhibition 
features 
new 
and
 recent
 artworks
 by
 Hawaii’s
 contemporary
 artists,
 and
 is
 the
 only
 show
 of
 its
 kind
 in
 the
 islands.

Selected
 artworks
 explore
 themes
 of
 “Contact,” cultural
 exchange
 and
 migratory
 movements, many of
 them 
reflecting 
on 
personal 
narratives 
of 
heritage 
and 
connection.

 This
 year’s
 show
 is
 titled
 “Foreign
 and
 Familiar.”

Jurors
 are
 expected
 to
 select
 work
 by
 over
 80
 submissions
 in
 a
 wide
 variety
 of
 media
 from
 over
 50
 artists
 for
 the
 exhibition.
 On
 view
 at
 the
 Honolulu
 Museum
 of
 Art
 School
 from
 March
 24
 to April
 17,
 2016,
 “Contact 2016” also
 includes
 a
 series
 of
 free
 programs,
 including
 lectures,
 panel
 discussions,
 and
 films,
 designed
 to
 complement
 the
 show.

Since
 its
 inception,
 “Contact”
 has
 quickly
 established
 itself
 as
 one
 of
 the
 leading
 platforms
 for
 contemporary 
island
 artists 
to 
exhibit 
their 
work.

“’Contact’ 
enables 
the 
production 
and 
display 
of
 contemporary
 art
 made
 local
 and
 Native
 Hawaiian
 artists… many
 of
 whom
 would
 not
 otherwise
 have
 the
 opportunity
 to
 publicly
 exhibit
 their
 work,”
 said
 Maile
 Meyer,
 executive
 director
 of
 Pu‘uhonua
 Society.

This
 year’s
 show 
will 
include 
seven 
new 
artworks 
commissioned 
for “Contact 2016” supported 
by 
funding 
from
 grant
 sponsors,
 and
 will
 also 
feature 
a
 number 
of 
site‐specific 
works.

In 
this 
year’s 
call 
for
 artists, 
exhibition 
curators 
Herman 
Piʻikea
 Clark 
and 
Isabella 
Ellaheh 
Hughes
 implored
 artists
 to
 think
 about
 the
 intersection
 between
 the
 foreign
 and
 the
 familiar
 and
 the
 relationship
 between
 intimacy
 and
 interdependence
 that
 has
 come
 to
 define
 Hawaii
 as
 a
 place,
 a
 people, 
and
 a 
21st 
century 
society.

Hughes
 said, 
“It
 is
 an
 honor
 to
 be
 serving 
with
 Pi‘ikea 
as
 one 
of
 this 
year’s 
jurors 
for
 “Contact.” 
The 
thematic 
approach 
results 
in 
an
 exhibition 
format
 that
 offers 
a
 great
 sense
 of
 curatorial
 cohesion
 and
 breadth… particularly
 distinctive
 for
 a
 juried
 show.
 This
 year,
 ‘Contact’
 is
 thematically
 linked
 through
 a
 focus
 on
 the
 concepts
 of
 ‘Foreign
 and
 Familiar,’
 and
 in
 turn,
 how
 these
 concepts
 have
 impacted
 artists’
 own
 relationships
 with
 Hawaii
 and
 the
 socio‐cultural,
 political,
 ecological
 and
 economic
 landscape
 of
 the
 Islands.”

Hughes
 and
 Clark
 are
 particularly
 interested
 in
 artists
 imbuing
 their
 work
 with
 elements
 of
 their
 own
 personal
 histories
 and
experiences.
 

 Some
 of
 the
 confirmed
 “Contact” artists
 include
 Bernice
 Akamine,
 Linny
 Morris,
 Sonny
 Ganaden,
 Joshua
 Lake,
 Paradise Cove,
 Jerry
 Vasconcellos,
 and
 Kaui
 Chun.
 Artists
 who
 have exhibited
 in
 previous
 “Contact”
 shows
 include
 Ê»Imaikalani
 Kalahele,
 Solomon
 Enos,
 Kalani
 Largusa,
 Marika
 Emi,
 Drew
 Broderick,
 Marques
 Marzan,
 Charlton
 KÅ«paÊ» a
 Hee,
 Les
 Filter
 Feeders
 (Sally
 Lundburg
 and
 Keith
 Tallett),
 Cory
 Taum,
 Kahiau
 Beamer,
 Kahi
 Ching,
 Kazu
 Kauinana,
 Russell
 Sunabe,
 Hanale
 Hopfe,
 Momi
 Greene,
 Meala
 Bishop,
 Meleanna
 Meyer,
 Nanea
 Lum,
 Dalani
 Tanahy,
 Harinani
 Orme,
 Debbie
 Young,
 Jan
 Becket,
 Peter
 Shepard
 Cole,
 AuliÊ» i
 Mitchell,
 Tamara
 Leiokanoe 
Moan,
 KC 
Grennan,
 Kamran
 Samimi,
and
 Erin 
Marquez.

“Contact 2016” 
is 
made 
possible 
by
 generous
 funding 
from
 the 
Atherton 
Family 
Foundation, 
Cooke Foundation, 
Hawaii
 Tourism 
Authority, 
and 
Office 
of 
Hawaiian 
Affairs, 
as 
well 
as
 through 
the 
kind
 support
 from
 its
 partners:
 Honolulu
 Museum
 of
 Art
 School,
 Nā
 Mea
 Hawaii,
 and
 WCIT
 Architecture.

The
 “Contact” exhibition
 is
 organized
 by
 Maoli
 Arts
 Alliance
 (MAÊ»A)
 an
 initiative
 of
 Pu‘uhonua
 Society.

 For 
more
 information, 
please
 visit
 www.contacthawaii.com.