Wailoa Center seeks submissions for international abstract art exchange

Artists across Hawaiʻi are invited to submit works for the 15th Annual Abstract Only exhibition at the Wailoa Center, which will feature a first-of-its-kind international exchange with abstract artists from Shanghai, China.

The show, organized by the Wailoa Center in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance and the Shanghai Abstract Artists Association, will facilitate an exchange of both artwork and artists traveling between the two countries.

“It is deeply meaningful to hold an art exchange in two places with such different cultures and artistic discourse,” said Zhao Kangwei, president of the Shanghai Association for Foreign Exchange. Xu Demin, president of the Shanghai Abstract Painting Society, added, “Art knows no borders, and artistic wealth should belong to everyone.”

Selected pieces from Hawaiʻi artists will be exhibited at the Wailoa Center from Aug. 1 to Aug. 28 and may be considered for display in a companion exhibition in Shanghai this December.

“This exchange is the first of its kind for Wailoa Center and the Division of State Parks,” said Wailoa Center Coordinator Emily Leucht. “Abstract art provides a unique platform to explore our shared humanity beyond language and borders.”

Submissions are open exclusively to Hawaiʻi residents and kamaʻāina through www.callforentry.org until July 1, 2025. More information is available at www.wailoacenter.com/abstract-exchange.