Wahi Pana: Storied Places is a temporary public art project of the City and County of Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA) and is a winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge grant.
Beginning February 2025, the project will feature art installations across the island of O‘ahu that connect each site with their indigenous, Native Hawaiian mo‘olelo (stories).
Wahi Pana: Storied Places is a temporary public art project of the City and County of Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA) and is a winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge grant.
Beginning February 2025, the project will feature art installations across the island of O‘ahu that connect each site with their indigenous, Native Hawaiian mo‘olelo (stories).
Phase 1 & 2 Art Installations Now Open
Wahi Pana engages and educates Hawai‘i's residents and visitors through art that explores the layered and profound mo‘olelo (stories) of our ‘āina (land).
By presenting these cultural narratives, we aim to inspire respect and appreciation for our island's rich heritage, prompt meaningful conversations, and strengthen connections within our community. Through the creative expressions from talented local artists, Wahi Pana seeks to deepen the understanding and appreciation of our history and culture, fostering a shared sense of place among all who experience these powerful stories.
.
Ka Pāʻū Ehuehu o Hiʻiaka
(The Animated Skirt of Hiʻiaka), 2025
Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum
📍Handi-Van
Join us for the unveiling of the Wahi Pana Handi-Van and hear the moʻolelo behind this installation as it traverses across the mokupuni. As part of our program expanding ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi presence in public space, portions of the storytelling will be shared ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, honoring language as living practice and pathway.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Honolulu Hale
12:00-1:30 PM
Enjoy the program as the Hale courtyard is filled through voices of our youth. Honor the strength and future of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi with over 50+ haumāna and kumu from:
• Pūnana Leo o Mānoa @ahapunanaleo
• Hālau Kū Māna @halaukumanapcs
• Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue @ke_kula_kaiapuni_o_anuenue
Immerse into their presentations of oli (chant), mele (song), hula (dance), and haʻiʻōlelo hoʻopaʻanaʻau (memorized speech oration)—powerful expressions of Hawaiian language confidently carried by the next generation.
This celebration is free and open to all. Please let us know you are coming by responding to the link in bio.
—
Artist Cory Taum’s @kamehana_o_kala design transforms the Handi-Van into a moving cultural installation, carrying the moʻolelo of Hiʻiakaikapoliopele across Oʻahu in a new and deeply resonant way. As the Handi-Van travels daily routes connecting communities, the artwork reflects Hiʻiaka’s own expansive journey—linking districts, landscapes, and people through story.
Mahalo to our collaborators:
Department of Transportation Services
TheBus and Handi-Van Services
@hnl.dts + @ots_thebus_hv
Puʻuhonua Society / Aupuni Space
Curatorial Partner / Design Kōkua
@aupunispace + @puuhonuasociety
Moʻolelo Research
@mahucha_art + @olapakauwila.wilz
Studio on the Rock Fabrication + Production
Wahi Pana: Storied Places is a temporary public art project of the City and County of Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA) (@hnl_moca) and a winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge grant (@bloombergdotorg).
.
WEATHER UPDATE. Community activations for the Wahi Pana Phase 3 installations, originally scheduled for February 20-22, have been postponed due to inclement weather in the weekend forecast.
RESCHEDULED ACTIVATIONS TO COME. Stay connected here for new dates for community gatherings that will offer opportunities to meet the artists, learn about their creative process, and connect more deeply with the stories and meanings behind each installation.
Mahalo for your understanding and continued support of Wahi Pana: Storied Places.
Wahi Pana Handi-Van by @kamehana_o_kala — Coming Soon.
.
MĀUNUUNU
@wahipana × @inthesouthernsun
A collective residency grounded in place-based storytelling, where ancestral knowledge meets contemporary expression. Featuring reimagined iterations of:
KA PĀʻŪ EHUEHU O HIʻIAKA (2025)
Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum
@kamehana_o_kala
LĒʻAHI from Aloha Ka‘apuni (2025)
Brandy Nālani McDougall
KŪʻENAʻENA (2025)
Koloikeao Anthony
@koloikeao
With moʻolelo research by:
Kauwila Mahi @olapakauwila.wilz
Ka‘imina‘auao Kahikina @mahucha_art
Named for the persistent wind of Waiʻalae that moves through Waikīkī, Māunuunu speaks to transformation, offering, and intention. A call to shift, reconnect, and reflect— affirming these stories of Waikīkī are living and still in motion.
Join us for the reveal.
Friday, January 30th
Doors @ 6PM // Artist Talk Story @ 630PM
FREE + open to all with RSVP at link in bio
#wahipana #storiedplaces #publicartchallenge #bloombergconnects #mayorsofficeofcultureandthearts
.
HAU CORDAGE WORKSHOP
// hana kaula
Co-Sponsored by Waialua Community Association @waialuacommunityassociation
Join us for a special opportunity to learn the craft of hana kaula (cordage making) with Wahi Pana artist Amber Khan @colour.amber. Cordage will be part of an upcoming @wahipana public art installation at Haleʻiwa Beach Park launching February 2026.
Session 1:
17 January 2026
SAT 10am - 2pm
Session 2:
24 January 2026
SAT 10am - 2pm
Waialua Community Assoc
66-434 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleʻiwa, HI 96712
Workshops are FREE & open to all.
Let us know youʻre coming via QR code or link in bio.
@wahipana x @hnl_moca x
@colour.amber x @puuhonuasociety x @waialuacommunityassociation
.
Kohelepelepe: Walking Photography Tour
Koko Crater Botanical Garden
Saturday, January 17, 2026 @ 9am
Join Wahi Pana featured artist and photographer Ualani Davis @ua_lala for a guided walking and photography tour through Koko Crater Botanical Garden, exploring this wahi pana and the stories of Kohelepelepe.
Participants will learn basic photography strategies while reflecting on how images can deepen our connection to place. Bring a camera—or camera phone— and join us on the 2-mile loop trail, ending at Davis’s installation “Kuʻu Pua i Kohelepelepe” (2025).
Held in honor of the ʻOnipaʻa Peace March, this gathering invites community to reflect on history and celebrate the enduring strength of our lāhui.
•Bring water
•Please wear good walking shoes
•Trail is unpaved and uneven in some areas
•Registration required by Friday, 1/16
#wahipana #kohelepelepe #kokocrater
.
WAHI PANA: GUIDED SNORKEL TOUR
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
Saturday, January 10, 2026 @ 7am
Join @kekahiwahi wahi and members of SnorkelClub for a guided community snorkel at Hanauma Bay. Developed alongside the Wahi Pana featured short film Hanauma: He Wahi Loli Mau (2025), this experience invites experienced ocean swimmers to reconnect with the stories, environment, and living systems of Maunalua.
Participants will complete a short pre-dive reflection, gather for orientation and kilo (observation), then enter the water for a guided snorkel. The experience closes with shared discussion focused on stewardship and care.
•Limited to 6 participants
•Film viewing required before the dive
•Bring your own snorkel gear: mask, fins, appropriate swimwear
This gathering will recur every 3–4 months and is designed to strengthen community relationships to this important #wahipana.
Early registration is recommended— space is very limited. Visit the QR code or link in bio to secure your spot today.
#wahipanastoriedplaces #hanaumabay #snorkeltour #maunalua
.
It was a tremendous year for Wahi Pana! Reflecting on the incredible work of 2025, we’re deeply grateful to every artist, partner, and community member who helped bring Phases I & II to life.
Looking ahead with excitement to Phase III, exhibits at Kahe Point (Solomon Enos & Meleanna Meyer), Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden (Kaili Chun), and Haleʻiwa Beach Park (Amber Khan & Jordan Souza) are soon opening in 2026.
Wahi Pana centers artistic installations as forms of creative storytelling—spanning sculpture, video, photography, poetry, painting, and mele.
We invite you all to engage beyond the surface of these storied spaces— explore, be curious, foster deeper connections to place and learn more about Hawaiʻi’s rich histories.
By cultivating historical and cultural awareness, the Wahi Pana initiative encourages more meaningful and respectful engagement with Hawaiʻi and its people.
Mahalo piha to these featured artists, collaborators, partners, & organizations who all played a vital role in bringing these stories to life:
@mayorrickhnl
@honolulu_gov
@bloombergdotorg
@hnl_moca
@aupunispace
@puuhonuasociety
@hvcb
@oahuvb
@bishopmuseum
@hnl.dts
@honolulubotanicalgardens
@honolulu_parks
@oer.honolulu
@kamehana_o_kala
@carlfkpao
@koloikeao
@kekahiwahi
@ua_lala
@solomonenos
@meleannaameyer
@babysurf2 @colour.amber
@olapakauwila.wilz
@mahucha_art
@dj_mermaid
#BrandyNälaniMcDougal
#ImaikalaniKalahele
Wahi Pana is a program of Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts and Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. It was created in partnership with Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of Economic Revitalization, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Puʻuhonua Society, Aupuni Space, Hawai‘i Contemporary, the O‘ahu Visitors Bureau, and the Bishop Museum.
Wahi Pana will run for a three-year period from 2025 to 2028. More more information, visit wahipana.com x @wahipana.
#wahipana #mayorsofficeofcultureandtgearts #cityandcountyofhonolulu
Koloikeao Anthony @koloikeao
Kū‘ena‘ena (2025)
📍Kapi’olani Park
Visit this public art installation 1 of 8 Wahi Pana:Storied Places sites across O’ahu
Kū‘ena‘ena is a series of images of Kūka‘ilimoku that reminds us of the presence of Papa‘ena‘ena Heiau, an important heiau (place of worship) for Hawai‘i that was originally situated directly mauka of this site, now the location of La Pietra School for Girls.
Like the pōhaku (stones) taken from the heiau to build the wall surrounding La Pietra School, images of Kūka’ilimoku have often been appropriated in ways that sever them from their original forms and meanings. Kū‘ena‘ena restores this connection, returning the akua to places it once inhabited.
Composed of eight graphic installations throughout the old archery of Kapi‘olani Park, Anthony adapts images of Kū from representations now held in three disparate museums: the British Museum (London), the Peabody Essex Museum (Boston), and the Bishop Museum (Honolulu). He references ‘Ena‘ena—meaning red-hot, glowing, or burning—through the visual language of reflective red stop signs. By adopting this aesthetic, the work rethinks the function of signage itself, questioning how signs instruct the public, assert authority, and the way we move in public space.
Mahalo to our collaborators:
Department of Parks and Recreation
@honolulu_parks
Pu’uhonua Society x Aupuni Space
Curatorial partner, Design Support
@aupunispace @puuhonuasociety
Mo‘olelo Research
@olapakauwila.wilz @mahucha_art
Wahi Pana: Storied Places is a temporary public art project of the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Aret @hnl_moca City and County of Honolulu @honolulu_gov and is a winner of the Bloomberg
Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge grant @bloombergdotorg
Photos: @bloombergdotorg
#wahipana #bloombergconnects #publicartchallenge#publicart#fortstreetmall
#WahiPana #KoloikeaoAnthony #Kū‘ena‘ena #KapiolaniPark #Waikiki
Our Partners
