Hawai’i Contemporary Presents Art Summit 2024: ALOHA NŌ

A workday with HT25 artists and curators and Kauluakalana at Kawainui in Kailua, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, 2024. Courtesy of Hawai‘i Contemporary. Photo: Orlando Thompson.

Art Summit 2024
ALOHA NŌ
A gathering of artists, curators, and thinkers
June 13 – 15, 2024
hawaiicontemporary.org/art-summit-2024

More than 30 artists, curators, and thinkers—along with keynote speaker, Kanaka ‘Ōiwi philosopher Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer—will converge upon Hawai‘i for Art Summit 2024, June 13–15. Presented by Hawai‘i Contemporary, Art Summit 2024 is a free, three-day event that will take ALOHA NŌ, the theme for Hawai‘i Triennial 2025 (HT25), as its point of departure, inviting participants to engage and grapple with the theme’s complex and layered meanings. The event will offer audiences opportunities to consider ideas of ALOHA NŌ through a series of conversations, artist spotlights, film screenings, and artist-led workshops.

The multi-site event will coincide with the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC), the largest celebration of culture of indigenous Pacific Islanders. Through its line-up of local-global voices, the symposium-style program will add viewpoints from the contemporary visual arts sphere to FestPAC’s vibrant program while situating Hawai‘i at the center of local-global discourses around contemporary art and ideas.

“Art Summit is such a great opportunity to share space, have discussions at depth, and exchange ideas around contemporary art and culture,” said Rosina Potter, executive director of Hawai‘i Contemporary. “We’re excited to introduce a number of our HT25 artists and to highlight some of our amazing community partners, and we’re looking forward to gathering together, in person, ahead of Hawai‘i Triennial 2025.”

In bringing together a diverse group of voices, Art Summit 2024 aims to create meaningful dialogues and new insights, offering attendees with opportunities for cultural exchanges and nuanced understandings of ALOHA NŌ, which alludes to a practice that comprises a profound love and truth-telling. With a focus on Hawai‘i and the intention of drawing connections through the Pacific and beyond, Art Summit 2024 will articulate positions of the invited artists and expand upon the collective curatorial thinking for HT25.

“Art Summit is a wonderful platform for artists and audiences to be in conversation with us and with each other,” said HT25 curators Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Binna Choi, and Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu in a joint statement. “The occasion to gather in person is an invaluable opportunity that we do not take for granted. We envision a shared time for mutual learning, reflection, and togetherness that evolves our understanding of ALOHA NŌ. It will not only expand our curatorial thinking, but also galvanize HT25 to be a collective endeavor.”

Participants: Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer, Meleanna Aluli Meyer, Edith Amituanai, Diana Campbell, Tyler Cann, Melissa Chimera, Kahi Ching, Binna Choi, Megan Cope, Mina Elison, Sione Faletau, Healoha Johnston, Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu, Halena Kapuni-Reynolds, Yazan Khalili, kekahi wahi, Las Nietas de Nonó, ‘Ihilani Lasconia, Anchi Lin, Nanea Lum, Brandy Nālani McDougall, Navid Najafi, Carl F.K. Pao, Tiare Ribeaux, Russell Sunabe, Taro Patch Creative, Shannon Te Ao, David Teh, and Nina Tonga

Amongst the HT25 artists in Art Summit 2024, three artists and an art collective are visiting from Aotearoa: Edith Amituanai, Sione Faletau, Shannon Te Ao, and Taro Patch Creative. Their participation is made possible through a transnational partnership between Hawai‘i Contemporary and Creative New Zealand.

“Under Creative New Zealand’s Pacific Arts Strategy, we are proud to partner with Hawai‘i Contemporary again to support the success of Pacific and Māori artists,” said Kawika Aipa, Manager Pacific Arts of Creative New Zealand. “Our strategic relationship focuses on our Moana pou. Strengthening links with artists and communities in Oceania is important to Pasifika artists and helps develop the arts of Aotearoa. We look forward to Art Summit in June, and how this will shape the work of the selected Triennial artists.”

Art Summit 2024 will be hosted at Hawai‘i Convention Center (June 13), Honolulu Museum of Art (June 14), and Capitol Modern, formerly Hawai‘i State Art Museum (June 15). All three days are free and open to the public with registration through Hawai‘i Contemporary. Recordings of select programs will be available online for on-demand viewing after June 30. Art Summit 2024 is made possible, in part, by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Atherton Family Foundation​, Creative New Zealand – Pacific Arts Strategy, Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and the State of Hawai‘i.

To learn more about Art Summit 2024, visit hawaiicontemporary.org/art-summit-2024.