Arts & Culture

Tuesday, October 17. The Hawai’i Arts Alliance represents 105 organizations and hundreds of individuals statewide who are committed to the power of the arts to transform lives. HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on this weekend’s celebration honoring an arts supporter whose efforts are shaping the character of Hawai’i. This Saturday night, the Hawai’i Arts Alliance honors Nancy Bannick at the Hawai’i Theater with an evening of inspiring music and dance. Call or check online, Hawaii Arts Alliance or hawaiitheatre.com. Runs 3:06.

 

Friday, October 13. “Project Runway,” the hit fashion reality program, will have a Honolulu spin-off this Saturday. Forty budding designers are presenting over a hundred garments on a red carpet catwalk in Chinatown for the Fresh F.A.C.E. of Nu’uanu Street Festival. HPR’s Noe Tanigawa spoke with the fashion festival’s organizers. This month’s Second Saturday event is The Fresh F.A.C.E. of Nu’uanu Street Festival with 3 Fashion shows; 25 Art tents; international Cuisine; and Entertainment including Cirque Hawai’I and the Hawai’I Opera Theater. Keiki activities are scheduled in nearby shops. Fashion shows are at 11:30, 2, and 4 and festivities continue til 6pm this Saturday on Nu’uanu street downtown. Runs 3:32.

 

Thursday, October 12. Five key members of the UH Manoa Art Department retired last year, including the Department Chair, John Wisnosky, a prominent local painter who passed away just a few months ago. Fiber artist, Pat Hickman, Japanese art history professor Willa Tanabe, gallery director Tom Klobe and department secretary Amy Oshiro all left distinguished legacies. On the occasion of the Annual Faculty Exhibit, HPR’s Noe Tanigawa spoke with the new UH Manoa Art Department Chair, Gaye Chan. The UH Manoa Faculty Art Exhibition is on view at the Art Building Gallery through October 20th, weekdays from 10:30 am to 4 pm and Sundays from noon to 4pm. Volunteers are needed to help construct a full sized airplane inside the gallery for the upcoming exhibition, “Reconstructing Memories.” Runs 3:52.

 

Friday, October 6. An ambitious multi-media opera, “Naupaka - A Hawaiian Love Story” premieres Saturday night at Leeward Community College Theater. In Hawaiian with English super titles, “Naupaka” combines chant, kiho’alu (slack key), dance, drama, and digital sound and projections in a unique theater experience. HPR’s Noe Tanigawa offers this preview. “Naupaka: a Hawaiian Love Story,” is sold out on O`ahu but will tour to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center and the Kahilu Theatre on the Big Island. Runs 3:07.

 

Thursday, October 5. French Polynesia is composed of 118 atolls and islands, including 5 archipelagos stretched over a nearly 100 thousand square mile area in the South Pacific. Tahiti is the largest island, home to about 70% of French Polynesia’s 250 thousand inhabitants. HPR’s Noe Tanigawa continues a discussion with authors featured in Varua Tupu, a collection of new writing from the region. A colloquium on Ma’ohi language and literature is set for 3 pm this afternoon at the UHManoa English Department. Varua Tupu: New Writing from French Polynesia is available at bookstores around the state. Check manoajournal.hawaii.edu. Runs 4:27.

 

Tuesday, October 3. A celebration of Tahitian literature and culture is underway in Honolulu with the publication of Varua Tupu, the first English translation of contemporary Tahitian writing. Varua Tupu, the latest edition of Manoa: A Pacific Journal, includes poetry, essays, and artwork that bring contemporary French Polynesia to life. HPR’s Noe Tanigawa offers the first of two conversations with contributing writers. | The public is invited to a reading by writers featured in Varua Tupu at Native Books/Na Mea Hawai`i, Ward Warehouse, tonight, 7-9 pm. A panel discussion on contemporary Tahitian literature is set for Thursday, October 5th at the UHM English Department. For more information, check manoajournal.hawaii.edu. Runs: 3:38.