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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
We invite you to experience Hanauma Bay through alternative ways of knowing this storied place in an experimental educational film by artist collective @kekahiwahi.
‘Hanauma: He Wahi Loli Mau’ is a 19-minute film that weaves together interpretations of place across time through animation, underwater journeys, public service announcements, portraits of sea, land, and sky, field recordings, and layered soundscapes.
The film amplifies creation stories and lived experiences of Hanauma Bay within the ahupuaʻa of Maunalua on Oʻahu, inviting viewers to listen and reconsider their relationship to Hanauma Bay as a living, changing place.
Watch the full video online through the link in our bio.
Wahi Pana: Storied Places engages Hawai‘i’s residents and visitors through art that explores the layered moʻolelo (stories) of our ʻāina (land).
This is one of eight Wahi Pana installations currently across Oʻahu.
Visit the project website via the link in our bio and plan your visit to each site.
#WahiPana #KekahiWahi #HanaumaBay #Pilina #PublicArt
“Ku‘u Pua i Kohelepelepe” is a cyanotype installation by Ualani Davis @ua_lala that weaves ʻike kūpuna, history, and place. On a sunny day, visitors are immersed in blue light becoming part of the work itself while reintroducing these native plants of koa, kukui, and ʻihiʻihilauākea.
Come experience the light and new ways of connecting with this wahi pana.
1 of 8 Wahi Pana: Storied Places @wahipana installations currently across O’ahu. Follow link in bio for project website and plan your visit to each site.
Wahi Pana engages Hawai‘i`s residents and visitors through art that explores the layered and profound mo‘olelo (stories) of our ‘āina (land).
#WahiPana #UalaniDavis #KokoCraterBotanicalGarden #HawaiianHistory #PublicArt #Cyanotype
Carl F.K. Pao @carlfkpao
Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe (2025)
📍Fort Street Mall
Carl F. K. Pao’s tile mural illustrates Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe (The Law of the Splintered Paddle), a foundational law established by King Kamehameha I in 1797. Also known as Ke Kānāwai Māmala Hoa, this decree guaranteed the safety of the highways to all, as women, children, the sick, and elderly.
Pao’s mural transforms ʻŌlelo Hawai‘i into a visual language through a coded alphabet that inscribes the words of the law at the center of a major downtown walkway, restoring the message visually in public space. The letters of his coded alphabet are rendered in red and yellow, expressing the duality of ao and pō – the realm of light and darkness– symbolically restoring balance within the space and community.
E nā kānaka,
E mālama ‘oukou i ke akua
A e mālama ho‘i i ke kanaka nui
a me kānaka iki;
E hele ka ‘elemakule,
ka luahine, a me ke kama
A moe i ke ala
‘a‘ohe mea nāna e ho‘opilikia.
Hewa nō, make.
Oh my people,
Honor thy gods;
Respect alike [the rights of] people both
great and humble;
May everyone, from the old men, women,
and to the children
Be free to go forth and lie in the road
Without fear of harm.
Disobey, and die.
Mahalo to our collaborators:
This project was presented in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025 Aloha Nō
@hawaiicontemporary
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: @thunderhug @bloombergdotorg
#wahipana #bloombergconnects #publicartchallenge#publicart #fortstreetmall
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