On July 29, 2023, the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation hosted LIFT awardee Lehuauakea at The Center for a presentation and celebration of their traditional kapa (barkcloth) kite recreation project.
Lehuauakea is a māhū mixed-Native Hawaiian interdisciplinary artist and kapa maker from Pāpaʻikou on Moku O Keawe, the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Through a range of traditional Kanaka Maoli craft-based media, their art addresses cultural and biological ecologies, Indigenous identity, and contemporary environmental degradation.
In partnership with the KALO Hawaiian Civic Club, Lehuauakea invited the community to view her LIFT project, “E Hoʻāla Ka Lupe: To Awaken the Kite”.
The project is dedicated to the revival and recreation of traditional Native Hawaiian kites, or lupe. Addressing the overwhelming absence of information and limited old samples of Hawaiian kites, the project aims to begin bringing this craft practice back to Kanaka Maoli people using traditional construction methods and materials, including kapa (bark cloth), gathered fiber for cordage, and natural pigments.