SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural

A large-scale mural is currently being hand-painted on the mauka-facing wall of the Main Street Promenade in Wailuku.  The public art piece is the first by the SMALL TOWN * BIG ART project since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leading the latest piece is artist Eric Okdeh, a Philadelphia-based muralist, known locally as the artist behind the 2012 Nā Wai ‘Ehā mural (on Market & Main, adjacent to Request Music).

Okdeh’s project proposal called for an inter-community exchange between students in his hometown of Philadelphia and students here in Wailuku.

In the weeks preceding Okdeh’s arrival to Wailuku, the ST*BA team worked to pivot with the original proposal for hands-on workshopping with the local community and turned to social media, an online survey and video conferencing.

The proverb inspiring Okdeh’s project is Kūlia i ka Nuʻu, (strive for the highest).

Less than a week remains in the installation of this new mural at the Main Street Promenade, which is home of the Maui Academy of Performing Arts, or MAPA.

SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. PC: Sean Hower

SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. PC: Sean Hower

SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. PC: Sean Hower

SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. PC: Sean Hower

SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. PC: Sean Hower

SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Nears Completion of New Wailuku Mural. PC: Sean Hower