NACF 2018 National Artist Fellow and singer/songwriter Kalani Pe’a calls himself a millennial Hawaiian who loves to write Hawaiian music with his own innovative twist.
Fiber artist Marques Hanalei Marzan has dedicated his career to continual exploration, perpetuation, and innovation around Native Hawaiian arts.
Pōhaku Hano Kaho`ohanohano, a practitioner and preservationist of traditional Native Hawaiian weaving, weaves and teaches from his studio on family land in Kahakuloa.
Filmmaker Ciara Leina`ala Lacy (Kanaka Maoli) is driven by her commitment to social justice, representation, and Native Hawaiian culture.
Jeff Peterson is a slack key guitarist, composer, and educator. He studies and shares the rich history of Hawaiian music across generations.
Kalani Pe’a is a songwriter and vocalist who celebrates his Native Hawaiian language and heritage through music and visual arts.
We believe that the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation has a responsibility to support those artists and culture bearers whose voices and actions are championing justice. Our Community Inspiration Projects do just that by providing artists and communities opportunities to address issues of social concern through artmaking. Here are some of the great things that are happening with some of our Community Inspiration Projects:
“Our people can’t live without hula and hula cannot live without our people.” 2015 NACF Fellow Vicky Takamine and Kahikina de Silva recently talked to Americans for the Arts about their deep commitment to keeping Hawaiian culture alive, and passing…
Composer and musician Aaron J. Salā is known for his exquisite melody and bel canto legato.
A fusion of talent and energy came together in the sold-out world premiere of The Story of Everything (TSOE) in Honolulu, Hawai`i on September 26, 2015. Kealoha, an award winning spoken word poet and a graduate of MIT with a degree in nuclear physics, led the effort. The theatre, filled with a community of mothers and babies, students, and young adults to elders of all ethnicities and professions, represented the vast diversity of communities Kealoha desires to work among. The performance was the culmination of a lifetime’s work for Kealoha and one of the pilot projects of NACF’s Community Inspiration Program.
Singer Lehua Kalima says her music is rooted in her Native Hawaiian upbringing, but her musical passion has grown into pop and folk.
Starr Kalāhikis early musical influence was gospel, jazz and bossa nova. Now inspired by the poetry and songs of Queen Lili’uokalani (Hawaii’s last queen), she recently launched a performance production entitled “The Lili’u Project.”
Visual artist Abigail Romanchak will create a new series of large-scale prints addressing climate change and sea levels rising due to global warming with support from NACF.
Legendary songwriter Liko Martin will complete new compositions, including a rock opera, and release new recordings with support from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation.
Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole will compose original music and choreograph new bodies of work ready to tour in 2016 with the support of an NACF Fellowship.
Robi Kahakalau (Native Hawaiian) will compose a collection of music and accompanying curriculum to teach Native Hawaiian pre-school age children language and heritage through music.
Bernice Akamine is a visual artist known for the abstract glass sculptures and vessels she creates with smooth flowing lines, often covered with a form-fitted skin of texture and color.
Umi Kai (Native Hawaiian) will launch a traditional arts master-apprentice program to teach next generations to create Native Hawaiian cultural objects and weaponry.
