Mālama Wao Akua Exhibition Announces Call to Artists

Artwork Receiving Day: Tuesday, September 8^th from 9am – 6pm at Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center
Online Pre-Registration Deadline: Wednesday, September 2^nd by midnight
Exhibition in Gallery: September 18^th – November 6^th
Virtual Opening Event: Friday, September 18^th
Where: Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center, 2841 Baldwin Ave. Makawao, HI 96768; Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, Free Admission

Makawao – Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center and East Maui Watershed Partnership present the 16^th annual Mālama Wao Akua, a fine art exhibition that creatively merges the worlds of art and conservation with works of art that honor Maui Nui’s native plant and animal species.

Hui No‘eau and East Maui Watershed partnership invite Maui artists working in any medium to create work depicting species native to Maui Nui (Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, Kaho‘olawe), a landscape showcasing only native Maui Nui species, or people working to protect Maui’s native species and native habitats. Mālama Wao Akua is a juried fine art exhibition with entry categories open to adults as well as elementary, middle & high school students residing in Maui Nui.

In response to COVID-19, some events and processes have been modified. All entry forms and payment will be submitted online, however, artists will still need to deliver their artwork in-person at receiving day on September 8^th for jurying. Artists are highly encouraged to submit their entries online by the pre-registration deadline on September 2^nd at midnight. Online entry forms will still be accepted through September 8^th at 6pm, however, the entry fee will be increased from $10 per piece entered to $20 per piece. Online entry forms and a full prospectus can be found at huinoeau.com or malamawaoakua.org.

Hui No’eau and East Maui Watershed Partnership are honored to welcome a team of jurors with expertise in both art and conservation to select among this year’s entries. Conservation juror Woody Mallinson is currently the Natural Resources Program Manager and Biologist for Haleakalā National Park. Woody began his career in fieldwork at Haleakalā on the Vegetation Management Team in 2006 working to protect and enhance native plant communities through invasive species control, inventory and monitoring, and rare and native plant restoration.

Art juror Abigail Romanchak is an esteemed Maui-based Printmaker. She received a BFA and MFA in printmaking from the University of Hawaii, Manoa. She has held teaching positions at Punahou School, The Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center, The Maui Arts and Cultural Center, The Contemporary Museum and The Honolulu Museum of Art. Abigail has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Hawai’i, nationally and internationally.  Her work belongs to many public and private collections including, The Australia National Museum, The White House, The Smithsonian, The Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Hanapi Foundation, Jon Hara Associates, Inc. Architects, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi, The Four Seasons and The Ritz Carlton. Romanchak sees her prints as a way to empower and assert a Hawaiian sense of identity and culture through art.

Mālama Wao Akua will be on display to the public from September 18^th -November 6^th on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9am – 4pm in the Hui No’eau gallery, as well as online at huinoeau.com. A virtual opening event will be held on Friday, September 18^th, with more details to come.

Mahalo to Aloha Recycling and the County of Maui for their support of this year’s Mālama Wao Akua exhibition. 

For more information about exhibition entry, please contact Hui No‘eau Exhibitions Coordinator Josephine Bergill-Gentile at [email protected] or call 808.572.6560 x23. Contact Allison Borell at East Maui Watershed Partnership for information about community & school presentations or for information about the watershed: [email protected] or call (808)268-1475.