Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 1, 1 January 2014 — KAPA SPOTLIGHT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

KAPA SPOTLIGHT

Starting in January, folks seeking some kapa immersion should visit the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Renowned hula troupe Hālau O Kekuhi will be premiering an original hula drama at Castle Theatre, where dancers will wear traditional costuming made of kapa produced especially for the performance. Also ahead is an accompanying contemporary kapa exhibit featuring creations by artists from Hawai'i and California, including Dalani Tanahy, Maile Andrade, Ka'iulani de Silva and Kamalu du Preez. The exhibit is a partnership between MACC's Schaefer Gallery, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the Maui Historical Society/Bailey House Museum and includes a historical look at kapa through artifacts from

the Bailey House Museum and private collections. From where did all this kapa love arise? Organizers trace it back to 2010, when Hālau O Kekuhi collaborated with a hui of 20 kapa makers. The hālau wore the resulting Hawaiian kapa garments of pā'ū and malo during a hō'ike performance at the Merrie Monarch Festival in 20 1 1 . From there, the idea grew, and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts embraced it as a statewide project, including a documentary film planned for puhlie television, exhibits, symposiums, lecture/demonstrations, workshops for kapa makers and other educational activities. Here is the information on the events at the MACC. For details or tickets, visit www.mauiarts.org or eall (808) 242-7469. HI'IAKAIKANO'EAU Sat, Jan. 18, 7:30 pm Hālau O Kekuhi premieres the

hula drama Hi'iakaikano'eau, whieh, in the words of the MACC, "recreates occupational movements and distills messages from historical mele, delving into the creative center of the Hawai'i sense of practical beauty: that all things should be made to be both useful and beautiful." Castle Theater. $12, $32 and $40. MŌHALA HOU KE KAPA: KAPA BLOSSOMS ANEW Tues.-Sun., Jan. 21-March 9 Onee almost lost as an art form, Hawaiian kapa making takes center stage at this exhibition of more than 20 kapa practitioners whose work involves both traditional and nontraditional use of materials and techniques. Schaefer International Gallery. Free admission. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. KAPA: THE MAKERS' JOURNEY Sun., Jan. 19, 1-3 p.m.

A panel discussion with Nālani Kanaka'ole, Kekuhi Kealiikanakaole, Marie McDonald, Roen Hufford and Lisa ShattenburgRaymond on the history and Hawaiian values of kapa, the botanical aspects of plants and natural dyes, and the function, diversity and future of the customs and practice. Also features demonstrations by Solomon Apio (tool making), Dalani Tanahy (traditional technique) and Denby Freeland (contemporary presentation), and Kaliko and Jon Spenser 'Ehā Pictures (video documentation). $10. Tickets available at the MACC box office. OBSERVE AND PLAY FAMILY DAY Sat, Feb. 8 and Sat, Marcli 1, 10 a.m.-noon Parents and children are invited to Schaefer International Gallery to see the kapa exhibit, watch kapa demonstrations and make a small pieee of art to take home. Free. ■

A Hawaiian kapa pieee titled "Pono'ole" by Wendeanne Keaka Stitt, whose work will be featured in an exhibit at Schaefer lnternahonal Gallery. - CourtesyMauiArts & Cultural Center