A message from the Director

Spring is here! During this time of rebirth, renewal, and regrowth, we continue to pursue new paths of change at the museum. We have been critically evaluating how a 21st-century museum best serves its community, and we are thrilled to unveil some new ways of shaping transformative art experiences in the coming year, which of course include incredible exhibitions and engaging public programming.

The freedom to lose oneself in the visual arts is a deeply personal experience, often enhanced by experimentation, inquiry, and space to focus and reflect. It is with this in mind that HoMAreintroduced its Artist in Residence program in December with Awakening artist Rebecca Louise Law. Rebecca returned to Hawai‘i in September for a two-week residency at the Art School, working alongside the museumʻs teaching artists. While artist residency programs look a bit different from place to place, they are universally meant to develop greater collaboration between the artist and their hosting institution through the exchange of themes, ideas, techniques, and skills. The result: Enrichment for the artist and the surrounding community.

We look forward to another artist residency this summer, when HoMA hosts renowned American sculptor and ceramicist Matt Wedel. His large-scale work Figure with Child (2015) was recently acquired by the museum and is on view as part of the Treasures of Devotion installation in Gallery 2. In March, he came to the museum to do a site visit and shape his residency in collaboration with museum staff. In July he will set up shop in the Art School’s new glazing studio where the public will be able to visit him and learn about his practice as he produces work inspired by his exploration of O‘ahu. You can read more about Matt’s practice and his work here.

Another pivotal milestone we will mark this spring is the reinstallation of works from the Museum’s Arts of Hawai‘i collection in the John Dominis and Patches Damon Holt Arts of Hawai‘i Gallery. Tory Laitila, Curator of Textiles and Historic Art of Hawai‘i, has partnered with guest curator Rory Padeken, born and raised in Ka‘alaea and currently serving as the Vicki and Kent Logan Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Denver Art Museum. Working together, they tell a new story of Hawai‘i through the thematic lens of landscape. Combining historic and contemporary works, the reinstallation will explore and celebrate this place we love through diverse, multifaceted perspectives. The gallery reopens on April 27.

Visitors continue to be spellbound by our suite of floral-related exhibitions: Rebecca Louise Law’s monumental installation Awakening—a walk through this immersive space filled with so much meaning is a perfect spring experience; Noah Harders’ intricate, fantastical works in Moemoeā; the “weeping realism” of Reveries: The Art of Hung Liu; and the incredible range of permanent collection works in Cross Pollination: Flowers Across the Collection. Learn more about what is happening at the museum in the latest issue of HoMA Magazine.

The idea of a 21st-century museum implies innovation, redefinition, and, of course, change. At HoMA, we continue to embrace our future by investing not only in art experiences that reflect and explore the present, but also those that serve to shape the ever-changing world in which we live. Our hard-working staff remain ahead of the curve in offering the most meaningful and thoughtful art experiences that we possibly can—and we can’t wait to share what’s ahead.

Warmly,

Halona Norton-Westbrook
Director & CEO

Halona is pictured above with HoMA Trustees Josh Feldman, Mike Watanabe, Kaili Chun, and Kitty Wo.

Posted by Halona Norton-Westbrook on March 31 2023