Free UH conference celebrates Indigenous artists, scholars

The ʻAhahui Noiʻi Noʻeau ʻŌiwi – Research Institute of Indigenous Performance (ANNO) will host its second biennial conference at Kennedy Theatre at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Feb. 5–6.

Titled ANNO’26: Bridging Generations, the free conference celebrates the power of passing knowledge from generation to generation within Indigenous and Hawaiian cultures. The two-day event will host scholars and artists from UH Mānoa and Ko Hawai‘i Pae ‘Āina. Through panels, workshops, film screenings, and networking sessions, ANNO’26 stimulates conversations about Indigenous performance and the importance of intergenerational transference of knowledge, language and artistic practices.

Interested attendees are encouraged to RSVP online.

The work of ANNO embodies three strands or maʻawe to achieve its goals: Maʻawe Mua (Scholarship and Publication), Ma‘awe ‘Elua (Curriculum and Archive) and Ma‘awe ‘Ekolu (Outreach and Recruitment). The three ma‘awe work in concert to position ANNO as the leading research institute of Hawaiian and Indigenous Performance, thus elevating the university on a global scale. ANNO, led by Tammy Haili‘ōpua Baker, J. Lorenzo Perillo, and Associate Professor Maile Speetjens, is an initiative stimulating scholarship in Hawai‘i and the global Indigenous community that highlights the artistic practices of aboriginal peoples. 

ANNO was established through UH Mānoa Provost’s Strategic Investment Initiative, a campus-wide competition designed to increase cross-unit and cross-disciplinary collaboration, in fall of 2022.

As part of its efforts to spark conversations about Indigenous performance, the organization has also launched Noiʻi Nowelo – A Survey of Hawaiian and Indigenous Performance, the first critical anthology of its kind, illuminating the expansive field of Hawaiian and Indigenous performance studies, its theory and its practice. 

Follow ANNO on Instagram @anno.institute or visit the website.