Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts

06/11/2026

Aloha!
On Monday, June 8 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., staff members from E ALA E Hawaiian Cultural Center will share the cultural significance, history, and traditions surrounding the lei draping ceremony of the statue of King Kamehameha in Emancipation Hall.

Visit our events calendar to learn more: https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/event-calendar

06/10/2026

Lei Pua ʻAla Foundation, in partnership with Hawai'i Health & Harm Reduction Center,invites artists to submit proposals for a permanent historical mural to be installed in a new AIDS Memorial & Community Memory Site at Honolulu’s Kakaʻako Waterfront Park Overlook, a hilltop site with all-encompassing views of city, mountain, and sea.

The memorial will be an enduring place where people can gather to reflect, mourn, and honor those who have been lost or suffered from HIV/AIDS, other epidemics, and related forms of prejudice, oppression and erasure; uplift Hawaiian and other cultural traditions of diversity, inclusion and well-being; and celebrate those working toward a more just and pono (equitable) future for all.

Grounded in Hawaiʻi’s uniquely multicultural landscape, the selected mural design will be a visually inspiring depiction of the long arc of community history honored by the memorial.

Entry Deadline: July 31, 2026, 5:00 p.m. HST

Budget: Up to 4 semi-finalists will receive $500; artist of a selected design will receive $3,000 to finalize and prepare mural design concept for fabrication and installation (costs covered by Lei Pua ʻAla Foundation).

Size and Scale: The installation surface is a 15.5 feet long, 40-inches high, semi-circular stone wall at the mauka (mountain) side of the overlook facing the ocean.

Materials and Finishes: Preference will be given to artwork that can be delivered as a digital image to be printed on High Pressure Laminate panels, the same material for the site’s informational and interpretive plaques due to its proven durability and resistance to harsh environmental conditions, graffiti, and physical damage. Other similarly durable materials may also be considered.

Learn More & Apply at: queerhistoriesofhawaii.org/artistcall

06/05/2026

Active duty U.S. military personnel: visit a Blue Star Museum this summer! Blue Star Museums is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of War and museums across America, offering free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve.

The 2026 program runs from Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 16, 2026, through Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. Admission to Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum is always free for everyone! Go to arts.gov/BlueStarMuseums to find participating museums.

06/04/2026

Display of fashion designs by Ryan Whittaker, Mapis Bernal, Kye Harford, and Marques Hanalei Marzan. May 15 – July 3, 2026 at Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum. Free admission.

Designs in the exhibit were first shown in a fashion show during the 2026 Mod Gala museum fundraiser by the Friends of Capitol Modern.

Display of fashion designs by Ryan Whittaker, Mapis Bernal, Kye Harford, and Marques Hanalei Marzan. May 15 – July 3, 2026 at Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum. Free admission.

06/04/2026

Throwback Thursday: Photographer and art instructor Kelly Ciurej introducing her "WELCOME2PARADISE" photo series. Clip from a Pau Hana Artist Talk hosted by Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum (September 2020), in partnership with the University of Hawaii at Manoa - Department of Art and Art History. The full talk is on our YouTube and Vimeo channels.

"This work in 'WELCOME2PARADISE' explores the cultural intersections that are unique to living in Hawaiʻi specifically, whether that be dealing with the isolation of being 2,000 plus miles from the closest continental landmass or the repercussions of environmental impacts. Being a group of islands, what does that mean? What does that look like? Plastics. Plastics. Ocean pollution, ocean plastics in particular, plastic use, what does that mean?"

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

SFCA Board of Commissioners General Meeting, Monday June 8, 2026. 11:00 a.m. until adjourned.
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Decisions about grants, artwork purchases, and more are made by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) Board of Commissioners. Meetings are currently being held in-person and virtually on Zoom, and the public is invited to attend.⁠
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Artwork in image: Detail from "Anuhea" by Lanakila Makalena Makua, 2025. Oil on canvas painting. Art in Public Places Collection of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA). Purchased from the 2025 "Mālama Wao Akua" exhibition at Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center (Maui). Artist statement: "Anuhea a cool soft fragrance of mist fills the air of the dense old koa groves on the Kaupō Gap trail in Haleakalā National Park. The beauty and harmony of the symbiotic relationships of all the organisms together in this majestic environment. Species featured: ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosides polymorpha), koa (Acacia koa), koa/shield bug (Coleotichus blackburniae)." View the full painting in the online collection database: sfca.hawaii.gov/app-art (link will redirect to an Axiell site).⁠
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Image description: realistic landscape painting of trees and tree branches against a misty sky. Image has been digitally altered with a dark gray gradient under text reading Monday, June 8, 2026 SFCA Board of Commissioners General Meeting in yellow and white.

05/29/2026

"Hawaiʻi Nei Costume Party II" watercolor painting by Sarah Martinsen, 2019. Art in Public Places Collection of the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA). Purchased from the annual "Hawaiʻi Nei Art Contest" 2019 (Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island). Currently on display in the State of Hawaiʻi Office of the Attorney General.

Sarah Martinsen started working as a caricature artist for an amusement park when she was still in high school. This is where she began to develop her skill and love of illustrating unique, whimsical characters. For Hawaiʻi Nei Costume Party II she delicately depicts in watercolor a child in an ʻAlalā (Hawaiian crow) costume. While the image looks cute, Martinsen captures a slightly sad, forlorn expression on the child's face. She explains, "My costume series speaks to the complex, inextricable, and fragile relationship that humans share with wildlife. The despondent child donning a ʻAlalā costume symbolizes the environmental distress that the endemic species is facing, and the uncertain future ahead." Hawaiʻi Nei is an annual art exhibition that takes place in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. The exhibit is organized by The Three Mountain Alliance, the Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance, the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and the Wailoa Center State Park. All artwork in the exhibition focuses on the plants and animals native to Hawaiʻi Island and depict these species in the media of the artist's choosing. The costume party that inspired this artwork took place at the opening of the exhibition in 2018.

The 2026 Hawaiʻi Nei exhibition is scheduled for November 6 - December 10 at Wailoa Art Center in Hilo. Their call for artists will open in June 2026.

The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts is Hawaiʻi's state government arts agency, administratively attached to the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Accounting and General Services. SFCA programs include Capitol Modern, the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum. Explore the public art collection in the SFCA's online database at sfca.hawaii.gov/app-art.⁠

Image description: watercolor painting of a child wearing a crow costume. The child is standing in a landscape with hills and trees, and is holding a walking stick. Label text is below the image.