“In The Southern Solar,” offered by famend artwork collective POW! WOW!, reframes the cultural historical past of Waikīkī. Photograph courtesy of Eleven17 Inventive and Pow!Wow! Worldwide.
In his 1889 poem “The Island Rose,” creator Robert Louis Stevenson bids farewell to Princess Kaʻiulani as she prepares to depart Oʻahu to review in Scotland. The half-Scottish, half-Native Hawaiian princess—described within the poem as “the island rose”—was the final inheritor to the Hawaiian Kingdom. Stevenson wrote the poem whereas staying at her Waikīkī dwelling, 4 years earlier than the unlawful overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
The road “Her islands right here, in Southern solar” impressed the title and idea for a brand new artwork exhibit coming to Waikīkī, curated by Oʻahu muralist and POW! WOW! co-founder and director Kamea Namba Hadar.
“It’s like the nice and cozy gentle that bathes every part in Waikīkī,” Hadar stated. “It’s rooted within the spirit of the great thing about Hawaiʻi and the guts and the great thing about Waikīkī.”
Regardless of Princess Kaʻiulani’s efforts to hunt justice and protest annexation, Hawaiʻi was annexed by america in 1898. She died the next 12 months.
Opening July 21, “Within the Southern Solar” options murals, installations and multisensory paintings honoring the unique lands of Waikīkī—akin to Helumoa, Kapua and ʻĀinahau—inviting guests to discover its layered previous in a brand new gentle. Introduced by international artwork collective POW! WOW!, the brand new avenue artwork exhibition shall be on view for at the very least one 12 months on the Hyatt Regency Waikīkī Seaside Resort and Spa, situated at 2424 Kalākaua Ave.
“In The Southern Solar” is situated at Hyatt Regency Waikīkī Seaside Resort and Spa on the nook of Kalākaua and Ka‘iulani Ave. Photograph courtesy Eleven17 Inventive and Pow!Wow! Worldwide.
“There’s a haunting magnificence in Waikīkī that many don’t see,” artistic director and designer Keola Naka‘ahiki Rapozo stated in a press launch. “Beneath the floor, there’s reminiscence—ʻāina that remembers. This exhibition brings that reminiscence ahead. Each element, each materials, is a love letter to what nonetheless lingers right here: the shadows of rain names, the outlines of misplaced streams, and the heart beat of a cultural legacy that by no means left.”
Based in Hawai‘i in 2011 by Jasper Wong, Kamea Hadar and Jeff Gress, POW! WOW! is now a worldwide collective devoted to remodeling areas via public artwork, cultural change and group storytelling. The idea for “Within the Southern Solar” had been on maintain because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hadar stated. After curating the same immersive artwork expertise at Bishop Museum in 2021, titled “The First Decade: From Hawaiʻi to the World,” the crew had been in search of a brand new area to create one other POW! WOW! pop-up.
The brand new exhibition is self-funded by Kimo Kennedy (artist supervisor and co-founder of Eleven 17 Inventive), Jason Cutinella (founder and CEO of NMG Community), Kamea Hadar, and Keola Rapozo (co-founder and inventive director of Fitted Hawai‘i). It marks the primary time this close-knit group of mates has formally collaborated on a mission.
“‘Āina Wonderland & Ahupua’a Hale” by illustrator and proprietor of Punky Aloha Studios Shar Tuiasoa. Photograph by Sarah Burchard.
“Everybody brings one thing crucial and completely different to the desk,” Hadar stated. “Everybody right here is from Hawaiʻi and desires to see the betterment of Hawaiʻi and the genuine publicity of the artists and artwork. And so, you realize, it really works.”
Friends can discover two flooring of immersive paintings. The higher flooring displays the altering gentle of Waikīkī from daybreak to nightfall. Guests can stroll into and thru murals, experiencing them from a number of angles.
“We purposely made it like an expertise you could customise. You simply wander, and you end up in several worlds,” Hadar stated.
Some murals are interactive, together with Hadar’s piece “Mālamalama,” that means “gentle” or “guiding gentle”—a reinterpretation of the same mural beforehand created at Bishop Museum. The brand new model encompasses a woman holding gentle to represent passing information to future generations. In distinction to the unique, the place she appears to be like down on the gentle, this mural has her gazing upward in order that viewers can see her eyes. A distant management permits visitors to shift her eyes left or proper, bringing her to life as youngsters run behind her backlit fingers.
“Mālamalama” by Kamea Hadar (pictured right here) represents Hawaiʻi’s youth passing information to future generations. Photograph by Sarah Burchard.
On the decrease stage, guests—particularly youngsters—are inspired to create their very own artwork. Two large chalkboards invite scribbles and sketches. Hadar stated he designed the area along with his three youngsters in thoughts, making it removed from the everyday sterile, hands-off artwork reveals present in museums.
Close by, limited-edition hats, shirts and different gadgets by native streetwear model Fitted shall be out there for buy. Produced in small batches, they’re anticipated to promote out shortly.
As a result of public murals are largely prohibited in Waikīkī, that is the primary avenue artwork exhibition of its variety to be hosted within the space. It’s sure to attract each locals and vacationers alike.
“We’re comfortable to only convey extra genuine native artwork and tradition to Waikīkī,” Hadar stated. “Anytime you might have native individuals doing native issues for vacationers in Waikīkī, it’s an excellent factor.”
Tickets for “Within the Southern Solar” are on sale now at inthesouthernsun.com. They can even be out there on-site beginning July 21.
@inthesouthernsun | @powwowworldwide
Location:
Hyatt Regency Waikīkī Seaside Resort and Spa, 2424 Kalākaua Avenue, Waikīkī, Honolulu, HI 96815 (Situated within the former City Outfitters retailer on the nook of Kalākaua & Ka‘iulani Ave)
Value:
Common: $30
Kamaʻaina adults (18+): $25
Youth (7-18) : $17
Little one (underneath 6): Free
OPENING ARTISTS
- Shar Tui‘asoa of Punky Aloha Studio — daring, female illustrations rooted in Pasifika storytelling (punkyaloha.com, @punkyaloha)
- Jack Soren — Native Hawaiian painter impressed by surf tradition, nostalgia, and generational reminiscence (jacksorensonfineart.com, @jacksoren)
- Nicky “Melón” Munoz of Gangway Gallery — graffiti-influenced advantageous artist identified for large-scale murals and dynamic textures (melonjamesoriginal.com, @olboy_melon)
- Jeff Gress — multidisciplinary artistic identified for typography, set up, and stage design (jgress.com, @pro_gress)
- Kamea Hadar — muralist and POW! WOW! co-founder/director whose portraiture bridges cultural and environmental id (kameahadar.com, @kameahadar)
- Cory “Kamehana” Taum — Native Hawaiian sculptor and cultural practitioner focusing on place, cosmology, and materials storytelling (kamehanaokala.com, @kamehana_o_kala)
- Gavin Murai of Reckon Store — printmaker and experimental designer mixing Hawai‘i streetwear and visible archives (@reckonshop)
- Keola Naka‘ahiki Rapozo of FITTED Hawai‘i — Native Hawaiian storyteller and designer translating ʻŌiwi heritage into wearable tradition (fittedhawaii.com, @fitted)
- Noa Hardisty — O‘ahu-based muralist and surfer identified for daring strains and layered views. (noahardisty.com, @noahardisty)
- Decor and staging assist by Ambient Leases, a boutique specialty leases studio based mostly in Hawai‘i.
