A Visual Feast in East Hawai'i

by Alan D. McNarie

Lovers of the visual arts will have plenty to do this fall on the Hilo Side. The region's four art centers all have full schedules, and this year there is a new player: the Hilo Art Museum.

East Hawai'i Cultural Center

EHCC's historic building needs a new roof. So part of the center's gallery space is going to be taken up through December by a fundraising exhibition called Raise the Roof, featuring works by local artists for sale.

Through September 28, the center's Main Gallery features the Big Island Fiber Arts Invitational, with exhibits from kapa and paper to silk batik painting to Hawaiian quilts, with some modernistic mixed media thrown in to boot. There's also an exhibition of paintings by local artist Elfie Wilkins-Nacht.

EHCC's most popular fall event, of course, is the Trash Art Show. The opening reception on October 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m., one of the big social gatherings of the season, features a "Trash Fashion Show," gourmet pupus from local restaurants, and hundreds of attendees (many outrageously, and thematically, costumed). The show runs through Oct. 29.

EHCC's annual Fall Arts Show, a juried event open to all Hawai'i Island artists, runs Nov. 3-24. The Arts and Crafts Fair, opening November 24, offers Christmas gift-buying opportunities, as does December's annual Small Works and Affordable Art exhibition/sale.

Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Volcano Art Center

At the Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park through November is In the Magical 'Ohi'a Forest, an exhibition of woodblock prints by Andrea Pro.

On Saturday, November 10, 1-4 p.m., at VAC's Niaulani campus in Volcano Village, British environmental artist Keith Barrett culminates a six-week residency at VAC with the unveiling of an original outdoor work-a permanent addition to campus-and a one-day exhibition of works by himself and his students.

The VAC gallery's 8th Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit by island artists runs daily from November 17 through January 6 from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. And on Saturday and Sunday, Nov.-17 18 and Friday through Sunday, Nov. 23-25 the gallery's annual "Christmas in the Country " celebrations include demonstrations and print- and book-signings by ­gallery artists, plus handcrafted decorations and gifts for sale.

The VAC Gallery is free (park entrance fees apply) and open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wailoa Center

Showing in unique, circular Main Gallery through Sept. 27 is Five Nutshells in a Dream, an eclectic and sometimes outlandish exhibition by five local artists (See Art Highlight, p. 23). The downstairs Fountain Gallery holds a retrospective of drawings by Damascus Aquarian, who passed away last year after an eventful life that included surviving the Holocaust and the 1956 Hungarian Uprising against the Communist government, building a multimillion-dollar business empire in Los Angeles, and then abandoning it all to pursue a spiritual path on Hawai'i Island while creating "evocative art."

In October, the Main Gallery hosts the Second Annual Big Island Wood Exhibit with an invited painter, Barry Saltzman. The Fountain Gallery features ceramics and photography by Steven Freedman and Mike Shewmaker. Both shows run from October 5 through Oct. 26.

November 2-29 brings the Mauna Loa Observatory's 50th Anniversary Exhibit to the Main Gallery, and photography by Rick Decker in the Fountain Gallery. On December 7-28, the main gallery holds a Christmas exhibition by the Doll Collectors of East Hawai'i, while the Fountain Gallery displays the Hilo Honwanji Pre-School Children's Christmas Exhibit.

Gallery hours: M/T/Th, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; W, noon to 4:30 p.m.
Hilo Art Museum

In addition to its growing permanent collection and its special collection of Holocaust-related art, the Hilo Art Museum is planning a special two month exhibition starting on October 5: Surf & Skate Show, which celebrates the art displayed on surf and skate boards and gear.

Further exhibitions are still in the planning stages.
Hours: M-Sa., 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Su 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Studio Tours

Hamakua Artisan's Guild members open their studio doors for their annual Fall Tour on Friday, Nov. 16, 4-8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 18, 12-4 p.m., with studio tours, demonstrations and, of course, art for sale. At least a dozen artists will have works on display at seven studio locations. Maps to the studios will be available at the Big Island Glass Gallery in Honoka'a and the Firehouse Galley in Waimea.

Thirteen artists will be participating in Volcano's annual studio tours on Nov. 23-25; 10 a.m-4 p.m. Maps can be had at most Volcano businesses.

East Hawai'i Cultural Center
ehcc.org n

On The Web
Volcano Art Center
volcanoartcenter.org
Hilo Art Museum
hiloartmuseum.org
Hamakua Artisan's Guild
hamakuaartists.com
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