Akakū Upstairs features muralists John “Prime” Hina and Maui’s Noble Richardson

On Thursday, November 16th, Akakū Upstairs salon is excited to talk story with two profound cultural muralists, Oahuʻs John “Prime” Hina, of Urban 808 and DearLoveStory, and Mauiʻs Noble Richardson of E.H.A.(Endemic Hawaiʻi Artists).

John Hina is a native Hawaiian street artist with over 1000 murals worldwide. After surviving a tough Oʻahu neighborhood and almost losing his life to gang violence, he turned his life around. In 2007 he founded Hawaiʻi’s first graffiti based art organization Urban 808 focused on using art to mentor at-risk youth away from drug abuse, gang affiliation and violence. Through the years he has collected traditional Hawaiian stories from generational families and recently he began a new journey with DearLoveStory, sharing his passion for visual creativity with Hawaiian storytelling. His hope is to share and preserve valuable cultural stories for future ancestors.

Noble Richardson carries the fingerprint of who he is in his artwork through the strengths of his Maui community where he was born and raised, and raises his own family. He created E.H.A. Murals to amplify and aid the need for sourcing local Hawaiʻi artists to be a creative source for Maui’s cultural connection to the community and its economic growth. E.H.A. Murals has nearly a decade of public art relationships, including youth and volunteer mentorships. Noble is also an art instructor for many local programs and schools, including Hui Malama camps, summer intensives at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, after school programs at Liliʻuokalani Trust and maintaining Wailuku Elementaryʻs art program school-wide. His work is heavily influenced by Hawaiian values and culture.

Register for free here (https://bit.ly/Akaku-Upstairs-Murals) – seating is limited. The event is held at Akakū’s Upstairs Media Lab, Suite 205. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the program runs from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

The October salon with Producer/Director Jace Panebianco is available for viewing here.

Akakū Upstairs is supported in part by Bank of Hawai’i and Pacific Biodiesel.