Testimonies received from BFED Committee.

Hello,
I am an artist and instructor.
I would encourage you to allow your he Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center in Makawao to receive funds in the FY25.
I personally have seen the positive impacts of the many classes the Hui No’eau offers.
Maui County needs to support the arts and the creative process of our community.
Thank you

I am a concerned Haiku resident and I am emailing to request Maui county to utilize open space funding to purchase the 3 Pauwela parcels for $6.8 million. Please preserve this land as it is an important aspect of Hawaiian culture.
Sincerely,
Nicole Greenwood

I am a concerned Haiku resident and I am emailing to request Maui county to utilize open space funding to purchase the 3 Pauwela parcels for $6.8 million. Please preserve this land as it is an important aspect of Hawaiian culture.
Sincerely,
Nicole Greenwood

SAVE HAIKU COASTAL / AGRICULTURAL LAND
Aloha Maui County Council,
Please purchase the three parcels for sale in Haiku by Wainaku LLC and preserve it/use it for ag, Haiku School, the community center, and ocean access.
Thank you,
Spencer Hyde
Haiku, HI 6708

Aloha, my name is Brandis Sarich and I am a board member of the Hui No'eau. Please accept my testimony in support of Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center’s Youth & Family Outreach Programs and Art with Aloha Programs.
The poet Jane Hirshfiled says that art is the antidote for despair- and that seems appropriate for kids in Lahaina. The Hui No'eau's outreach programs eliminate cost and logistic barriers to arts participation for more than 8,000 Maui County keiki annually, including keiki on Lāna’i and Moloka’i. In 2023, this included more than 1,500 Lahaina keiki who benefitted from the Hui’s arts outreach, art supply distributions for Lahaina schools, field trips to the Hui; and Art2Go Art Kits. Hui Youth Outreach programs are delivered at no charge to participants, schools, or partner organizations. I ask the County of Maui to please consider supporting the Hui’s youth outreach efforts with $50,000 in FY25 so that the Hui can continue this important work at the same level as in the past.
Hui No‘eau’s Art with Aloha Program provides demonstrations, hands-on workshops, art events, and youth programs with native Hawaiian cultural practitioners. Art with Aloha programs encourage authentic cultural exchange while inspiring appreciation and understanding of Hawaiian people, culture, and hana No‘eau (arts). I ask the County of Maui to please consider supporting the Hui’s Art with Aloha Programs with $50,000 in FY25.

Aloha my name is Anne-Marie Forsythe and I am the Executive Director for Hui No‘eau Visual
Arts Center. Please accept my testimony in support of Hui No‘eau’s Youth & Family Outreach
Programs and Art with Aloha Programs.

I truly believe in the immeasurable power of the arts to support mental health, healing, and
overall well-being. As people work toward rebuilding their homes and their lives, art can help us
feel less alone by providing an opportunity for shared experience and expression. Art teaches
us to notice details, to find beauty where we may not have seen it before, and to connect with
our community and ourselves.

The arts will be more critical now than ever before to support the community’s mental health and
healing. Studies have shown that arts and culture can be key tools in preserving, recovering and
creating new social memory, with positive impacts on community members’ abilities to be
resilient and appropriately engage and participate in their post-disaster lives. Participants in artistic and creative initiatives realize physical and mental health benefits, including stress reduction, increased self- confidence, social cohesion, and community empowerment. Moreover, reports indicate that art can empower disaster survivors to take control of their thoughts, their feelings, and their narratives, and thus to begin the long process of recovery.

Hui No‘eau’s Youth & Family Arts Education Outreach Programs eliminate cost and logistic
barriers to arts participation for more than 8,000 Maui County keiki annually, including keiki on
Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i. In 2023, this included more than 1,500 Lahaina keiki who benefitted from
the Hui’s arts outreach, art supply distributions for Lahaina schools, field trips to the Hui; and
Art2Go Art Kits. Hui Youth Outreach programs are delivered at no charge to participants,
schools, or partner organizations. We are all heartbroken over the devastation the fires on Maui
caused last August and we know how important art for the children affected by the fire is as part
of their continued healing and recovery. I ask the County of Maui to please consider supporting
the Hui’s youth outreach efforts with $50,000 in FY25 so that we can continue this important
work at the same level as in the past.

I would like to share recent testimony from some of our youth participants and community
Partners:

“Our grandson Lahikiola saw the fires as he and his family fled Lahaina. Our family
relocated to Upcountry. It was a difficult transition for Lahikiola, leaving his friends,
school and community. The upcountry community has been so supportive and
welcoming. Lahikiola is thriving, and now that he got involved with the Hui he is so
happy. He looked forward to going to art class every day and was so excited to tell us
what he learned.”

“Hui No‘eau’s amazing teaching artists have been the BEST with our children! The
children always look forward to our weekly in-person art days. Parents have also been
enjoying time spent with their children in the groups, which promotes such healthy
parents and child relationships and precious moments of bonding.” Misty Bannister,
Children’s Services Coordinator, Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers

“Mahalo Hui Noʻeau and Kumulāʻau and Haunani Sing. Hui Noʻeau truly went above and
beyond to fulfill their mission of providing a space for community arts. Not only providing
us the resource, but also going as far as to bring the resource to us. This allowed us to
take part in an otherwise not available opportunity that our keiki and Kumu were
engaged in. Kumulāʻau and Haunani were truly a gift. Their lesson plan, organization,
and execution was pure perfection. Their sincere aloha for the language and works of
our kūpuna helped to support what we are instilling daily in our classrooms. Lastly this
opportunity helped to heal our community through art and culture. The keiki were given
the opportunity to indulge in work that brought them joy in a time where emotions are
high and feelings are raw. It also allowed for our community to come in and see first
hand the resilience of our students and families. Mahalo nui loa for your support and
aloha!” - Kumu Joy Salvador, Kula Kaiapuni O Nahiʻenaʻena

Hui No‘eau’s Art with Aloha Program provides demonstrations, hands-on workshops, art
events, and youth programs with native Hawaiian cultural practitioners. Art with Aloha programs
encourage authentic cultural exchange while inspiring appreciation and understanding of
Hawaiian people, culture, and hana No‘eau (arts). I ask the County of Maui to please consider
supporting the Hui’s Art with Aloha Programs with $50,000 in FY25. I would like to share testimony from some of our recent students:

“Shre (Wilson) really shares the history of Ni‘ihau and its culture and people. She is so
enthusiastic about her subject and passionate about keeping this special cultural art
alive for future generations it is infectious. I can’t wait to take another course with her.”

“I enjoyed meeting the other artists in class and seeing their work and processes. It’s
inspiring to me to work with other creatives. I was also very touched by the three fire
survivors in the class and how they were using their class time to “feel normal” and
create a routine in an otherwise very tumultuous time in their lives.”

“Kekai (Daunhauer)’s passion and expertise were most infusive and inspired us to
experiment on the items we had to make dye coloring and print.”