Tasha Kama, Committee Chair
HUMAN CONCERNS AND PARKS COMMITTEE
Maui County Council
200 High Street
Wailuku, HI 96793
Subject: RESOLUTION 22-143, SUPPORTING THE DESIGNATION OF WAILUKU TOWN AS AN ARTS DISTRICT (HCP-62)
Dear Committee Chair Kama and Council members,
Mahalo for considering the work that the community needs to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
Since early June, I have been volunteering on the committee of Wailuku-based arts programs, businesses and cultural practitioners whoʻs efforts are to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan. As a kumu hula in the Wailuku area, much of my time consists of balancing our limited time and resources, and are focused on hālau missions and plans to thrive. However, I know we can create new resources, new cross-sector partnerships throughout town, new collaborative events and activities, and a unified means of maintaining the cultural integrity of this place, which is all of our kuleana.
This huge effort will result in a unified and enjoyable destination that maximizes the public's opportunities to experience, learn and celebrate the arts. We know this will be a welcome adaptation for the community, as our committee conducted an island-wide survey in which we received over 500 responses confirming this statement. We are working carefully to design a public-private partnership entitled “Wailuku Arts District” that will have a District Manager, Advisory Board and several working committees to A) coordinate and expand Arts District programming; 2) promote awareness and understanding of the Arts District; and 3) help orchestrate a clean and safe Arts District.
Our efforts are rooted in the long-term community-driven plans for Wailuku. Which in the year 2000, provided specific actions to foster an economic renaissance throughout the 68-acre Wailuku Redevelopment Area, the plan emphasized streetscape beautification, infrastructure and parking upgrades, regulatory reform and targeted tax incentives with key elements like street lighting, expanded parking capacity and developing new visitor attractions.
As plans progressed over time, those engaged pushed for further detail regarding creation of new economic drivers, preserving open space and highlighting the cultural history of the community, as referenced in the 2012 re:Wailuku workshop summary report. The basic unified community need is encompassed in the statement: “Wailuku’s commercial core will have an abundance of life, color and vitality that reflect the Town’s history and culture. The Town will be alive with local music, hula, arts and crafts.” Imagine the possibilities of celebrating Mauiʻs numerous diverse cultures and various art forms on a daily basis, all within the Wailuku district! “Wailuku will be a comfortable place to “talk story” with friends, neighbors, and visitors.”
This is a vision that most of us can agree is worth making happen. By supporting this resolution that recognizes our effort to design the Wailuku Arts District Management Plan, you send a unified message to our community that our collective work has value that reaches far beyond any single arts entity.
Aloha Councilmembers, and thank you for considering today the work that we are doing to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
In 1984, Maui OnStage lost their home at the Old Kahului Fairgrounds Territorial Building and moved into Wailuku Town’s historic Iao Theater, which was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the next 30 years, numerous arts and community organizations have called the space their performance and gathering home, including Maui Chamber Orchestra, Maui Choral Arts Association, Maui Pops Orchestra, Maui Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and many others.
In 2017, seven of Waluku Town’s core performing arts entities – including the 48-year old Maui Academy of Performing Arts – organized as the Wailuku Performing Arts Alliance to enrich the lives of Maui residents and visitors in partnership with the Wailuku Community Association and the County of Maui.
That same year, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded one of 60 national Our Town grants to the County of Maui to design and test a pilot public art initiative that would determine Wailuku’s capacity and interest in becoming an Arts District – which is defined as a mixed use area in a community with high concentration of cultural facilities and operations aimed to promote cultural activity and economic growth.
The outcomes of that initiative, known today as SMALL TOWN * BIG ART, have included active collaboration by each aforementioned entity, remarkable community engagement to ensure all public artworks represent the history, culture and sense of place of Wailuku, a new 501c3 – Maui Public Art Corps – that is working to establish a countywide percent for art program, and new grant funds by the National Endowment for the Arts to develop a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
A Management Plan Advisory Committee comprising a volunteer team of Wailuku arts programs, businesses and cultural practitioners is meeting monthly to design goals, objectives, roles, responsibilities and a proposed budget for a public-private partnership that will be entitled “Wailuku Arts District.” This massive effort to coordinate facility and public space planning, management, maintenance and collaborative programming will result in an interconnected destination that maximizes the public's opportunities to experience, learn and celebrate the arts. The 3 short-term objectives are 1) to coordinate and expand Arts District programming; 2) to promote awareness and understanding of the Arts District; and 3) to help orchestrate a clean and safe Arts District.
By supporting this resolution that recognizes our effort to design the Wailuku Arts District Management Plan (with a 12/31/23 deadline), you send a message to our community that our collective work has value that reaches far beyond any single arts entity.
The arts are widely proven to impact communal health, economic, cultural and social outcomes. As we continue to create this plan to organize, to advocate and to thrive, we hope we can count on your vote of support and look forward to introducing our draft plan at the end of this year.
Mahalo,
Kelly McHugh-White
Chair, Maui Public Art Corps (Wailuku)
Aloha Councilmembers, and thank you for considering today the heartfelt work being done to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
My name is Hallie Hunt. I am co-artistic director for Adaptations Dance Theater, a professional performance company with the goal of providing work opportunities for Maui raised artists. I am a teacher for Alexander Academy of Performing Arts and Momentum Dance Maui. I have worked with MAPA and Seabury Hall as well. Connecting to the dance youth is a huge part of my life. I am constantly looking to see how the young artists of Maui can be best supported. I believe envisioning your future as a working artist is a powerful encouragement tool as we raise the children of Maui Community. This is one of the many reasons I believe so strongly in Wailuku as an arts district. Representation and support on a county level builds confidence in the incredible individuals that make up our varied and talented community. They will see that there is a place for them to continue to live and to thrive. To be supported by their home, by their political leaders, by their county is impactful.
The Wailuku Arts District management Plan is thoughtful and thorough. The cross currents and collaborations that will be built with your support are exciting. The community is ready. Wailuku is home to so much art, the groundwork is there. Solidifying support and connections will help the growth of this place. And bring forth the special shine that wailuku has. Art is in everything. Art is for everyone. Wailuku is a real representation of the different folks that live there.
Public art, programming, classes, activities will lift up residents' voices. It will renew spaces and revitalize minds. It will initiate care and love of wailuku Town.
Driving into wailuku yesterday I saw one of the murals curated by Small Town Big Art peeking out and shining over the town. I was reminded yet again of the power of art to bolster love and support of a place. It is a worthy endeavor to support the Wailuku Arts District Plan.
Aloha Councilmembers, and thank you for considering today the work that we are doing to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
My husband Marc and I are long-time Maui residents, and we set foot in Wailuku Town in December 2019 by opening our restaurant SixtyTwo MarcKet. Wailuku Town is such a community-driven town. Since our opening, we are surrounded by overwhelming support from businesses and local residents in Wailuku. We felt honored to be in such a dynamic, nostalgic, and vivid community. We are in full support of Wailuku Town as an art district.
Wailuku as an Art District has been a Wailuku vision for ages, as referenced in the 2000 Wailuku Redevelopment Plan and beyond. “Wailuku’s commercial core will have an abundance of life, color and vitality that reflect the Town’s history and culture. The Town will be alive with local music, hula, arts and crafts. A variety of ethnic cuisine, bentos and pupu will be available. Seasonal vendors, outdoor exhibits, flower and produce markets, artists and musicians will provide a roster of events that draw local residents and visitors throughout the day and evening. Community festivals and special events will promote the area’s traditions. Wailuku will be a comfortable place to 'talk story' with friends, neighbors, and visitors." We love this vision and want to be part of this vision by providing high-quality local sourcing Food and Beverage options to the community. We love to see the community come together in this historical town, with storytellings and cultural communications.
From a tourism and economy perspective, we have seen the success of how Oahu turned its Kakaʻako area into an art district, and how that brings in great economic benefits for the area. As a local business in Wailuku, we would love to see Wailuku being the destination on Maui, not for its beaches or waves, but for its rich culture and the story told via small local shops, murals, and arts/culture scene and shows. Wailuku can be part of the Mālama Hawaii program as well with education to the visitors about our ʻāina and value.
By supporting this resolution that recognizes our effort to design the Wailuku Arts District Management Plan, we send a message to our community that our collective work has the value that reaches far beyond any single arts entity.
Yvonne McDowell
Partner
SixtyTwo MarcKet Restaurant
62 N. Market Street, Suite 100, Wailuku, HI
Aloha Council members, and thank you for considering today the work that we are doing to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
As a lifelong dancer born and raised in Wailuku and co-artistic director for Adaptations Dance Theater, I give my full support to the Wailuku Arts District–a mixed use area in a community with high concentration of cultural facilities and operations aimed to promote cultural activity and economic growth. Adding to the vibrant ecosystem of arts organizations and venues such as Iao, Maui OnStage, Maui Academy of Performing Arts, Maui Chamber Orchestra, Maui Choral Arts Association and much more, the Wailuku Arts District Management Plan will allow for the arts to enrich the lives of community members and visitors. By establishing a central calendar, information hub and a point person to coordinate our efforts in relationship to one another, we’ll strengthen our overall impact!
The broader community supports this vision as well. After collecting responses via focus groups, newsletters, and surveys, individuals have expressed that a locally-driven, culturally rooted arts district would have a community-wide impact. Some of the benefits include maintaining community love and pride, culturally competent art, connecting with and honor Hawaiian culture, promoting a sense of place, and spurring increased participation in and engagement with the arts.
After living in California for the past 13 years, I was so grateful to move home a year and a half ago to find such focused community investment in perpetuating the arts. I believe that investing our time and talent into a communal effort to establish an arts district sends a signal of potential to all of the other artists out there looking for a place to create, practice and celebrate. We want to be the place where art lives on Maui, and we look forward to building our family of creative energy, capacity and support!
Mahalo,
Ali McKeon Pineo
Co-Artistic Director, Adaptations Dance Theater
August 29, 2022
Tasha Kama, Committee Chair
HUMAN CONCERNS AND PARKS COMMITTEE
Maui County Council
200 High Street
Wailuku, HI 96793
Subject: RESOLUTION 22-143, SUPPORTING THE DESIGNATION OF WAILUKU TOWN AS AN ARTS DISTRICT (HCP-62)
Dear Committee Chair Kama and Council members,
Mahalo for considering the work that the community needs to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
Since early June, I have been volunteering on the committee of Wailuku-based arts programs, businesses and cultural practitioners whoʻs efforts are to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan. As a kumu hula in the Wailuku area, much of my time consists of balancing our limited time and resources, and are focused on hālau missions and plans to thrive. However, I know we can create new resources, new cross-sector partnerships throughout town, new collaborative events and activities, and a unified means of maintaining the cultural integrity of this place, which is all of our kuleana.
This huge effort will result in a unified and enjoyable destination that maximizes the public's opportunities to experience, learn and celebrate the arts. We know this will be a welcome adaptation for the community, as our committee conducted an island-wide survey in which we received over 500 responses confirming this statement. We are working carefully to design a public-private partnership entitled “Wailuku Arts District” that will have a District Manager, Advisory Board and several working committees to A) coordinate and expand Arts District programming; 2) promote awareness and understanding of the Arts District; and 3) help orchestrate a clean and safe Arts District.
Our efforts are rooted in the long-term community-driven plans for Wailuku. Which in the year 2000, provided specific actions to foster an economic renaissance throughout the 68-acre Wailuku Redevelopment Area, the plan emphasized streetscape beautification, infrastructure and parking upgrades, regulatory reform and targeted tax incentives with key elements like street lighting, expanded parking capacity and developing new visitor attractions.
As plans progressed over time, those engaged pushed for further detail regarding creation of new economic drivers, preserving open space and highlighting the cultural history of the community, as referenced in the 2012 re:Wailuku workshop summary report. The basic unified community need is encompassed in the statement: “Wailuku’s commercial core will have an abundance of life, color and vitality that reflect the Town’s history and culture. The Town will be alive with local music, hula, arts and crafts.” Imagine the possibilities of celebrating Mauiʻs numerous diverse cultures and various art forms on a daily basis, all within the Wailuku district! “Wailuku will be a comfortable place to “talk story” with friends, neighbors, and visitors.”
This is a vision that most of us can agree is worth making happen. By supporting this resolution that recognizes our effort to design the Wailuku Arts District Management Plan, you send a unified message to our community that our collective work has value that reaches far beyond any single arts entity.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Kahulu Maluo-Pearson
Kumu Hula, Hālau Kamaluokaleihulu
Aloha Councilmembers, and thank you for considering today the work that we are doing to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
In 1984, Maui OnStage lost their home at the Old Kahului Fairgrounds Territorial Building and moved into Wailuku Town’s historic Iao Theater, which was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the next 30 years, numerous arts and community organizations have called the space their performance and gathering home, including Maui Chamber Orchestra, Maui Choral Arts Association, Maui Pops Orchestra, Maui Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and many others.
In 2017, seven of Waluku Town’s core performing arts entities – including the 48-year old Maui Academy of Performing Arts – organized as the Wailuku Performing Arts Alliance to enrich the lives of Maui residents and visitors in partnership with the Wailuku Community Association and the County of Maui.
That same year, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded one of 60 national Our Town grants to the County of Maui to design and test a pilot public art initiative that would determine Wailuku’s capacity and interest in becoming an Arts District – which is defined as a mixed use area in a community with high concentration of cultural facilities and operations aimed to promote cultural activity and economic growth.
The outcomes of that initiative, known today as SMALL TOWN * BIG ART, have included active collaboration by each aforementioned entity, remarkable community engagement to ensure all public artworks represent the history, culture and sense of place of Wailuku, a new 501c3 – Maui Public Art Corps – that is working to establish a countywide percent for art program, and new grant funds by the National Endowment for the Arts to develop a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
A Management Plan Advisory Committee comprising a volunteer team of Wailuku arts programs, businesses and cultural practitioners is meeting monthly to design goals, objectives, roles, responsibilities and a proposed budget for a public-private partnership that will be entitled “Wailuku Arts District.” This massive effort to coordinate facility and public space planning, management, maintenance and collaborative programming will result in an interconnected destination that maximizes the public's opportunities to experience, learn and celebrate the arts. The 3 short-term objectives are 1) to coordinate and expand Arts District programming; 2) to promote awareness and understanding of the Arts District; and 3) to help orchestrate a clean and safe Arts District.
By supporting this resolution that recognizes our effort to design the Wailuku Arts District Management Plan (with a 12/31/23 deadline), you send a message to our community that our collective work has value that reaches far beyond any single arts entity.
The arts are widely proven to impact communal health, economic, cultural and social outcomes. As we continue to create this plan to organize, to advocate and to thrive, we hope we can count on your vote of support and look forward to introducing our draft plan at the end of this year.
Mahalo,
Kelly McHugh-White
Chair, Maui Public Art Corps (Wailuku)
Aloha Councilmembers, and thank you for considering today the heartfelt work being done to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
My name is Hallie Hunt. I am co-artistic director for Adaptations Dance Theater, a professional performance company with the goal of providing work opportunities for Maui raised artists. I am a teacher for Alexander Academy of Performing Arts and Momentum Dance Maui. I have worked with MAPA and Seabury Hall as well. Connecting to the dance youth is a huge part of my life. I am constantly looking to see how the young artists of Maui can be best supported. I believe envisioning your future as a working artist is a powerful encouragement tool as we raise the children of Maui Community. This is one of the many reasons I believe so strongly in Wailuku as an arts district. Representation and support on a county level builds confidence in the incredible individuals that make up our varied and talented community. They will see that there is a place for them to continue to live and to thrive. To be supported by their home, by their political leaders, by their county is impactful.
The Wailuku Arts District management Plan is thoughtful and thorough. The cross currents and collaborations that will be built with your support are exciting. The community is ready. Wailuku is home to so much art, the groundwork is there. Solidifying support and connections will help the growth of this place. And bring forth the special shine that wailuku has. Art is in everything. Art is for everyone. Wailuku is a real representation of the different folks that live there.
Public art, programming, classes, activities will lift up residents' voices. It will renew spaces and revitalize minds. It will initiate care and love of wailuku Town.
Driving into wailuku yesterday I saw one of the murals curated by Small Town Big Art peeking out and shining over the town. I was reminded yet again of the power of art to bolster love and support of a place. It is a worthy endeavor to support the Wailuku Arts District Plan.
Mahalo,
Hallie Hunt
Co-Artistic Director, Adaptations Dance Theater
Aloha Councilmembers, and thank you for considering today the work that we are doing to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
My husband Marc and I are long-time Maui residents, and we set foot in Wailuku Town in December 2019 by opening our restaurant SixtyTwo MarcKet. Wailuku Town is such a community-driven town. Since our opening, we are surrounded by overwhelming support from businesses and local residents in Wailuku. We felt honored to be in such a dynamic, nostalgic, and vivid community. We are in full support of Wailuku Town as an art district.
Wailuku as an Art District has been a Wailuku vision for ages, as referenced in the 2000 Wailuku Redevelopment Plan and beyond. “Wailuku’s commercial core will have an abundance of life, color and vitality that reflect the Town’s history and culture. The Town will be alive with local music, hula, arts and crafts. A variety of ethnic cuisine, bentos and pupu will be available. Seasonal vendors, outdoor exhibits, flower and produce markets, artists and musicians will provide a roster of events that draw local residents and visitors throughout the day and evening. Community festivals and special events will promote the area’s traditions. Wailuku will be a comfortable place to 'talk story' with friends, neighbors, and visitors." We love this vision and want to be part of this vision by providing high-quality local sourcing Food and Beverage options to the community. We love to see the community come together in this historical town, with storytellings and cultural communications.
From a tourism and economy perspective, we have seen the success of how Oahu turned its Kakaʻako area into an art district, and how that brings in great economic benefits for the area. As a local business in Wailuku, we would love to see Wailuku being the destination on Maui, not for its beaches or waves, but for its rich culture and the story told via small local shops, murals, and arts/culture scene and shows. Wailuku can be part of the Mālama Hawaii program as well with education to the visitors about our ʻāina and value.
By supporting this resolution that recognizes our effort to design the Wailuku Arts District Management Plan, we send a message to our community that our collective work has the value that reaches far beyond any single arts entity.
Yvonne McDowell
Partner
SixtyTwo MarcKet Restaurant
62 N. Market Street, Suite 100, Wailuku, HI
Aloha Council members, and thank you for considering today the work that we are doing to create a Wailuku Arts District Management Plan.
As a lifelong dancer born and raised in Wailuku and co-artistic director for Adaptations Dance Theater, I give my full support to the Wailuku Arts District–a mixed use area in a community with high concentration of cultural facilities and operations aimed to promote cultural activity and economic growth. Adding to the vibrant ecosystem of arts organizations and venues such as Iao, Maui OnStage, Maui Academy of Performing Arts, Maui Chamber Orchestra, Maui Choral Arts Association and much more, the Wailuku Arts District Management Plan will allow for the arts to enrich the lives of community members and visitors. By establishing a central calendar, information hub and a point person to coordinate our efforts in relationship to one another, we’ll strengthen our overall impact!
The broader community supports this vision as well. After collecting responses via focus groups, newsletters, and surveys, individuals have expressed that a locally-driven, culturally rooted arts district would have a community-wide impact. Some of the benefits include maintaining community love and pride, culturally competent art, connecting with and honor Hawaiian culture, promoting a sense of place, and spurring increased participation in and engagement with the arts.
After living in California for the past 13 years, I was so grateful to move home a year and a half ago to find such focused community investment in perpetuating the arts. I believe that investing our time and talent into a communal effort to establish an arts district sends a signal of potential to all of the other artists out there looking for a place to create, practice and celebrate. We want to be the place where art lives on Maui, and we look forward to building our family of creative energy, capacity and support!
Mahalo,
Ali McKeon Pineo
Co-Artistic Director, Adaptations Dance Theater