King Kamehameha III alumna to design Lahaina-inspired mural for campus

Maui Public Art Corps will begin a six-week process on Nov. 5 to install a large-scale mural across the temporary campus of King Kamehameha III Elementary School, located at 100 Akahele St. in Lahaina. 

Selected by a community panel from a pool of 33 applicants, the design will be led by artists Roxy and Matt Ortiz, a husband-and-wife creative duo, who paint under the name, “Wooden Wave.”

As an alumna with a deep connection to King Kamehameha III Elementary, Roxy said it’s a way to give back to the school she attended from kindergarten to 5th grade. “So many of my core memories were made there,” she said.

In partnership with Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House-Maui Historical Society, Maui County and Lahaina Restoration Foundation, the mural is being commissioned through the collaborative Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina program. It cultivates stories celebrating Lahaina history, culture and sense of place and engages community members to co-design art that is directly rooted in these stories. 

“We were first approached by the school and by (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) in March of this year to determine whether or not our Hui Mo‘olelo program could engage a new Lahaina cohort that would inspire potential works of public art at the site,” said Kelly White, manager of Maui County’s public art program and chair of Maui Public Art Corps.

Because neither the state nor the county own the school buildings, the project required special permission and adaptations. Artists will not paint directly onto building exteriors, but rather on vinyl magnetic sheets that will be affixed to the exteriors. The mural proposal says it will spread across the campus in 10 sections on the modular buildings.

“In August, we released the call for artist proposals, and here we are in October, deep into project development with an entire new team of partners and stakeholders,” White said. “It feels very clear that this was the right approach for this public art project.” 

For their proposal, Roxy and Matt selected oral histories shared by Uncle Snake & Aunty Myrna Ah Hee, Theo Morrison and Tom Fujita, all of which can be listened to online. According to Maui Public Art Corps, symbols have been identified from each of these stories to create the foundation of the mural design.

Additionally, students, families and staff of King Kamehameha III Elementary are participating in a survey to share mana‘o about these symbols and to provide other ideas for the artists as they create their mural blueprint. Lahaina community members and alumni of the school are also encouraged to contribute at https://forms.gle/ZzXZeccaH5fRYHct9.

“We are incredibly excited to bring this mural project to our temporary campus,” said Kamehameha III Elementary School Principal Ian Haskins. “It’s a powerful way to infuse our school with the spirit and resilience of Lahaina, even as we look forward to the day when our permanent school is ready.”

The Maui Historical Society expressed strong support for this effort. “The Hui Moʻolelo: Lahaina project fosters a countywide understanding of what Lahaina has endured and celebrated,” said Sissy Lake-Farm, executive director of Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House-Maui Historical Society. “It is a meaningful step toward healing and appreciating the rich history that continues to shape our community.”

The mural will be on view for three to five years while the school’s permanent site is being developed. Sponsors include Maui County, the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture & the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation Maui Strong, Hawaiʻi Rotary District 5000 Foundation Maui Fires Relief Fund, and private donors of Maui Public Art Corps.