Maui Public Art Corps invites community to help shape public art at County dune restoration event in Pāʻia

Maui Public Art Corps, in collaboration with the County of Maui Public Art Program, invites the Pāʻia community to participate in a hands-on public art activity this Friday, Nov. 13, from 3 to 6 p.m., as part of the Kapukaʻulua Dune Restoration Celebration at the Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center.

The activity marks the next phase of a public art project that MPAC and the County have been developing for more than a year in conjunction with the rebuild of the PYCC facility on County land. Commissioned artists Andrea Myers and Cory Taum will be on site to meet community members and share in the creative process.

Hands-on community engagement with the artists began Monday, Nov. 9, with an inspiring workshop at the Pāeloko Learning Center. Andrea Myers joined the public art team and 60 keiki from Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Pāʻia for hands-on exploration of traditional kapa-making, natural dyes, and ʻohe kāpala (bamboo stamping). The workshop introduced cultural practices and creative approaches that will inform the permanent artwork.

On Friday, community members of all ages are invited to continue this process by helping stamp a shared kapa piece and creating a small stamped card to take home. The resulting patterns and dyed fiber swatches will be photographed and digitized by Myers as source material for proposed sintered glass tile mosaic compositions wrapping the 18 exterior concrete columns of the new PYCC facility.

Taum is also participating as a commissioned artist on the broader public art project for the facility. Rooted in the Hui Mo‘olelocontributions of multi-generational Pāʻia families Sheldon and Dr. Andrea Kealoha and Pūlama and Kiaʻi Collier, the work is intended to reflect the cultural knowledge, stories, and community connections that make Pāʻia unique.

Community members are also encouraged to bring fabric items, including meaningful family textiles and T-shirts, to contribute to the project’s fabric drive.

For more information about the developing public artworks, visit:

• https://www.mauipublicart.org/beacons.html
• https://www.mauipublicart.org/paiawaves.html
• https://www.mauipublicart.org/pycc.html