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Celebrate FestPAC at Capitol Modern

Join us to celebrate the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture (FestPAC) at Capitol Modern! FestPAC is the world’s largest celebration of indigenous Pacific Islanders.

Hula ki‘i performance

About our FestPAC Programs

As one of the host sites for the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, Capitol Modern will feature curated exhibitions in its galleries, provide an exterior stage for presentations and performances, and offer collaborative spaces for cultural practitioners from across the Pacific to share traditions.

All activities at Capitol Modern tie into the theme, "Ke Ao Lama (Enlightened World)," and aim to showcase the proliferation of Pacific peoples' ingenuity, from traditional practice to contemporary expression, highlighting the evolution of enlightened native thought and creativity.

Getting Here

There is a free shuttle available between the Convention Center, Bishop Museum, and Capitol Modern. The shuttle arrives at Capitol Modern every hour on the 40-minute mark, beginning at 10:40am each day. For additional navigation and parking information, please click here.

What's On

Exhibits

Capitol Modern will feature several unique exhibits related to the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture.

ʻAi ā manō

ʻAi ā manō brings together artworks in a variety of mediums by an intergenerational group of Native Hawaiian contemporary artists and culture bearers, selected from the Art in Public Places (APP) Collection of the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA). Co-curated by Native Hawaiian artists and educators, Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick, Kapulani Landgraf, and Kaili Chun, ‘Ai ā manō continues the important work begun by this curatorial team during the making of Mai hoʻohuli i ka lima i luna (2020), the first group exhibition of Native Hawaiian contemporary art from the APP Collection to be presented at Capitol Modern (formerly the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum) since its opening in 2002.

As such, ‘Ai ā manō reflects on the significant strides that have been made by SFCA over the past three years, with support from multiple arts communities of Hawaiʻi, to address the lack of representation of Native Hawaiian artists and artworks within the APP Collection through increased acquisitions, commissions, exhibitions, and public programming. Presented alongside the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC), taking place on Oʻahu from June 6 to 16, 2024, the exhibition also acknowledges the vital role that Native Hawaiian contemporary art plays in the health and wellbeing of Hawaiʻi and Moananui at large.

Read more about ‘Ai ā manō and KE AO LAMA: ENLIGHTENED WORLD here.

Nā Akua Ākea: The Vast and Numerous Deities

Nā Akua Ākea: The Vast and Numerous Deities highlights the artistic and weaving endeavors of practitioners Kumulā‘au and Haunani Balino-Sing along with their students. Focused on revitalizing ulana ʻieʻie, the traditional Hawaiian twined basketry, this contemporary exhibition blends ancestral images, demigods, goddesses, shapeshifters, and ʻaumakua. The unique showcase offers a captivating visual and spiritual experience, complemented by contributions from guest artisans using both traditional and contemporary mediums. Curated by Lloyd Kumuāʻau Sing and May Haunani Balino-Sing, sponsored by The National Organization for Traditional Artists Exchange (NOTAE).

Hula Ki‘i

Hula Kiʻi is an ancient practice not widely known today, involving the use of a puppet and/or your own body to create images and share stories. The form is perpetuated by a handful of hula lineages. For the first time, Capitol Modern will host a Hula Kiʻi exhibit curated by the Hula Preservation Society. Puppets were contributed from masters on Kauaʻi, Maui, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi, and on June 10th, these experts and their students will present an historic and notable series of kiʻi dances together in public for the first time.

Kiʻi Ā Loaʻa: Illuminating and Interrogating Hawaiiʻs Monuments

Honolulu Theatre For Youth (HTY) in collaboration with Capitol Modern has produced two new, augmented reality experiences around statues of significance. The project is helmed by native Hawaiian storyteller, Moses Goods, and examines existing narratives attached to these contemporary markers. The project was funded by the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

The project takes place in three different locations. Audience members will use a personal cell phone or mobile device to access the experience at either the Queen Liliʻuokalani Statue or the King Kamehameha I Statue in downtown Honolulu. A QR code close to the statue will activate an app, leading to a 15-20 minute augmented reality experience exploring each statue. Visitors may also visit the ʻImi Ā Loaʻan augmented reality experience in Capitol Modernʻs Sculpture Garden where a choose-your-own-adventure experience can be accessed using iPads provided by the museum.

For more information on Kiʻi Ā Loaʻa or to download the app, click here.

Our Sea of Islands

A phrase coined by scholar and cultural pracitioner Epeli Hauʻofa, “our sea of islands” is an oft-quoted reference to a redirection in the perspectives of the islands of the Pacific. Rather than considering these islands as an exotic other, Hauʻofa challenged the world to see the Pacific region as a metropolis for engagement of all kinds. We consider the exhibit, Our Sea of Islands, to be one that uses engagement as the cornerstone not only for the resulting presentation of artworks but also for the very foundation of those pieces or performances from conception to fabrication to manifestation. Curated by Dr. C. Makanani Salā and Alyssa Chau of Gravitas Pasifika.

PILINA: My Relationships are My Heritage and Wealth

PILINA: My Relationships are My Heritage and Wealth, Festival of the Pacific Arts and Culture 50th Anniversary Exhibition will highlight the history of the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture. Curated by Dr. Frances Koya Vaka‘uta and Alyssa Chau.

Ki‘i Mua: Future Forms

This installation aims to merge 3D printing and digital sculpting, emphasizing the cultural identity of Ki‘i from the past into the future. It serves as a unique opportunity to share the artistic potential of emerging technologies with a wide audience, showcasing the values embedded in traditional Ki‘i forms in Hawai‘i. In partnership with the Friends of the Hawai‘i State Art Museum, Ki‘i Mua – Future Forms is a public performance installation in the POD (Passion on Display) gallery, building on the previous exhibitions by Honolulu Theatre for Youth and theater artist Solomon Enos.

Programming Schedule

June 7

June 8

June 10

June 11

June 12

June 13

June 14

Getting to Capitol Modern

There is a free shuttle available between the Convention Center, Bishop Museum, and Capitol Modern. The shuttle arrives at Capitol Modern every hour on the 40-minute mark, beginning at 10:40am each day. For additional navigation and parking information, please click here.

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