Despite the abundance of our artistic expressions, it has been more than twenty years since a large-scale exhibition of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi art was presented within the University of Hawai‘i (UH) System. Aware of its context, ‘Ai Pōhaku, Stone Eaters addresses the exclusion of Kānaka worldviews from academia, specifically within the UH Mānoa Department of Art and Art History, and an overall lack of institutional support for Kānaka art across the Islands. Beyond the present educational environment, systemic racism and anti-Hawaiian stances underlie many of the inequities and associated challenges that we face daily. By advocating for Kānaka artists and culture bearers, this exhibition offers audiences an opportunity to form meaningful connections to our diverse work while ensuring that our stories of art are sustained in our ancestral homelands and abroad.

We are grateful to do this collaborative work and are indebted to the artists, curators, and educators who have struggled to carve paths for us to follow. May we continue to share stories of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi creative resistance, persistence, and the inevitability of our nationhood.

Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick
Josh Tengan
Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu
Curators

Mānoa, Kona, O‘ahu
Makali‘i 2022