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“The Wailuku Arts District will deepen our sense of community, a community that binds us to each other, to our ancestors’ past and our children's future, across cultural, racial and economic boundaries.”
Currently, planning efforts are underway to establish portions of the Wailuku Town as an official “Arts District” – so the world will come to know that this is “the place where art and culture lives.”
In early 2022, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded a grant to the SMALL TOWN * BIG ART cooperative (County of Maui, Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House Museum/ Maui Historical Society and Maui Public Art Corps) to lay the foundation for this future Arts District. A Wailuku Arts District Plan Advisory Committee comprising arts organizations, supporters, researchers, community stakeholders and institutional contributors, is meeting (and evolving!) regularly to establish a public-private partnership that will implement the Wailuku Arts District vision.
“The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They enable and inspire us—fostering creativity, goodness, and beauty. The arts bring us joy, help us express our values, and build bridges between cultures. The arts also are a fundamental component of healthy communities, strengthening them socially, educationally, and economically—benefits that persist even in difficult social and economic times.”
Timeline of where we've come and what has happened
Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art Open House held at Maui Academy of Performing Art's Promenade Food Court in Wailuku
Mayor delivers $1.045 billion proposed budget to Maui council, which includes initial funding for Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art. See FY23 Budget, page 849.
Small Town*Big Art blessing of "Haʻahaʻa" mural depicting Mary Kawena Pukui, which fronts proposed Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art project on Vineyard Street.
Small Town*Big Art launches efforts funded by National Endowment for the Arts grant.
Maui County selected to receive an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to cultivate public art. Received $75,000 to support the planning and implementation of pilot arts programming in Wailuku Town over two years ending in June 2020.
“After this, we both took up golf on during the week and started eating fancy dinners at the local Country Club... Ha. This is not what happened at all. We suck at golf and love eating Guzman Y Gomez.”
Adam, Co-founder of Lumio
