UH Hilo Chancellor Irwin announces commission of Kekuhikuhi mural honoring Edith Kanaka‘ole
“It is an immense honor to share Aunty Edith’s story through this mural and have her portrait serve as a prominent feature on our campus,” says UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin.
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin shared this message on May 3 to the university ʻohana. The mural will be unveiled at Saturday’s event to celebrate the life and legacy of Edith Kanakaʻole.
In chorus with the celebration of Edith Kanakaʻole’s United States Mint quarter, Kamea Hadar and Kūhaʻo Zane, with the support of the UH Hilo Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Services, are collaborating on a mural of the late Hawaiian icon on the Edith Kanakaʻole Hall at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus.
As a faculty member at both the Hawaiʻi Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Aunty Edith openly shared her deep ancestral knowledge passed down to her through her familial hula lineage. Her early contributions to the university’s Hawaiian language program and numerous community initiatives have set a foundation that continues to be built on today. It is an immense honor to share her story through this mural and have her portrait serve as a prominent feature on our campus.
Kamea Hadar is a talented and experienced muralist honored by this opportunity. He has taken art courses at the Honolulu Art Academy and University of Hawaiʻi and spent periods living, studying, and creating in Paris, Madrid, and Tel Aviv. Currently residing in Honolulu, he is the Co-Lead Director of POW! WOW! Worldwide and his large-scale murals for businesses, organizations, and schools have been featured on buildings both in Hawaiʻi as well as globally. Hadar was commissioned by the University of Hawaiʻi to enhance several campus facilities, including the Stan Sheriff Center and the College of Education at UH Mānoa. Most recently, Hadar honored Native Hawaiian Olympic medalists Duke Kahanamoku and Carissa Moore with a large-scale mural in downtown Honolulu and completed another for the Polynesian Voyaging Society as a tribute to master navigator Papa Mau Piailug of Satawal.
Kūhaʻo Zane, Edith Kanakaʻole’s grandson, and Creative Director of Sig Zane Designs, will be collaborating with Hadar on the design of this mural. Weaving his father’s hand-cut art as well as the cultural narratives that drive their mission of education through design, this large expression of creativity is a celebration of his Grandmother’s achievements, impact and influence. Through the twenty years that Kūhaʻo has worked at Sig Zane Designs, he established a design studio SZKaiao which has done work for Tiffany’s & Co., Louis Vuitton, Nike and a multitude of local entities. Although each of these projects varied in brand identity and uniform design all, including mural projects like this one, are embedded in the cultural foundation passed to him generationally.
This is the third mural at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo that Kīpuka NHSC has supported. The first two were completed in 2015 on the UH Hilo residence halls and celebrate the physical features of Hilo and the moʻolelo that accompany them. Murals such as these reflect the values of the community and help UH Hilo students to further develop connections to Hilo. UH Hilo students will continue to be an integral part of the mural process by contributing to a continuation of the mural throughout the summer.
Bonnie D. Irwin
Chancellor
Invitation to E Hō Mai Ka ʻIke
The Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation,
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo,
Hawaiʻi Community College,
United States Mint,
the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum,
and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
is hosting
a public event honoring
Aunty Edith Kekuhikuhipuʻuoneonāaliʻiōkohala Kanakaʻole
Saturday, May 6, 2023
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
10:30 a.m. (Doors open at 10:00 a.m.)
Performing Arts Center
(This formal program will be live streamed)
11:30 a.m. Celebration and Exhibits of Aunty Edith’s Impact
Edith Kanakaʻole Hall
