Developed through a 2018 Our Town grant by the ​National Endowment for the Arts, SMALL TOWN * BIG ART is a creative placemaking collaboration of County of Maui + Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House Museum/ Maui Historical Society + Maui Public Art Corps that aims to develop a public arts district focused on the distinctive sense of place, history and culture of Wailuku, Hawaiʻi. Monthly art installations such as plays, murals, sculptures, storytelling events and more are created with community input that align with ‘ōlelo from Mary Kawena Pukui's ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Each artwork is spearheaded by professional artists that have submitted project applications exhibiting exceptional quality, style, experience in creating communal or public art and significance to Wailuku.

The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a new 2022 + 2023 Grants for Arts Projects grant to this collective to sustain and develop place-based, culturally rooted public art collaborations in Wailuku; design and implement public art activities in up to three new Maui County neighborhoods; and deliver a public art master plan for the County of Maui. 

What was successful for Wailuku Town's SMALL TOWN * BIG ART program might look different for another neighborhood, (and each neighborhood will have a new name for its respective public art program!), but the foundation will be the same: people that are willing to share their feedback, places where the artwork can live, and stories about the history + culture of the neighborhood. 

We will be exercising a three-pronged approach to identifying small towns throughout the County to expand this work: 

1. A public survey to help clarify who is participating, where we are invited and how public art can fit into the neighborhood landscape (performing, visual or experiential)
2. Evaluation of Maui communities' capacity to advance local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes through participatory public art projects 
3. Access and availability of Maui Historical Society archives in relation to the places nominated/ identified

If you feel that there is a particular area of Maui County where this work would make an impact, we want to hear from you in this survey. 

We look forward to working with you!

Last week, the National Endowment for the Arts announced that County of Maui has been approved for a $30,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support its SMALL TOWN * BIG ART creative placemaking program in Wailuku Town, and to make plans for countywide expansion. Over the next two years, the grant will fund efforts to sustain and develop place-based, culturally rooted public art collaborations in Wailuku; design and implement public art activities in up to three new Maui County neighborhoods; and deliver a public art master plan for the County of Maui.

“These grants underscore the resilience of our nation’s artists and arts organizations, will support efforts to provide access to the arts, and rebuild the creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “The supported projects demonstrate how the arts are a source of strength and well-being for communities and individuals and can open doors to conversations that address complex issues of our time.”

County of Maui's grant, in partnership with Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House Museum/ Maui Historical Society and Maui Public Art Corps, is through the NEA's Local Arts Agencies discipline, characterized as either departments of local government, nonprofit organizations, or hybrids of the two, that are actively engaged in community and artistic development.

Since its 2018 launch through an Our Town grant by the National Endowment for the Arts, SMALL TOWN * BIG ART has worked to create a tangible way to integrate the arts into an economic revitalization plan for Wailuku, producing an evolving collection of temporary, public artwork that is created through community input and stories — each inspired by a carefully selected proverb from Mary Kawena Pukui's ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings — in a process that prioritizes place-based, visual and performing arts as an instrument for revitalization that celebrates the history, culture and sense of place of Wailuku.

To date, SMALL TOWN * BIG ART has successfully implemented public art projects with 200+ community partners that have directly engaged 17,808 Wailuku participants. Virtual participation is consistently growing through a COVID-19 pivot strategy that has yielded 12 project documentaries designed to capture community impressions, ideas and context, as well as a 43-page interactive website and social media platform. Visit smalltownbig.org for more.

This work is among 1,248 awards across America totaling $28.8 million that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category. It is one of 13 Hawaii-based grant recipients and one of 3 across Maui County.

For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.