Upon panel selection, each SMALL TOWN * BIG ART project undergoes a period of project development geared to fortify the artwork’s connection to Wailuku history, culture and sense of place. Together, the artist, program partners and project collaborators gather community input on a project proposal in order to create a revised blueprint through such activities as free artist workshops, community consultations, live paint days, huakaʻi and storytelling events, among other experiences. Simultaneously, artists work with Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House/ Maui Historical Society to connect community input with ‘ōlelo from Mary Kawena Pūkuʻi’s ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Each SMALL TOWN * BIG ART project is tied to a unique excerpt from this text, which — in the words of Sissy Lake-Farm, “help to root this work in the mana‘o of our kūpuna.”
In July 2022, we partnered with Moloka‘i-based photographer Mickey Pauole to capture 22 Humans of Wailuku as they responded to the question: “Why do you think it is valuable to connect each SMALL TOWN * BIG ART project to a specific proverb from Mary Kawena Pukui’s ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings?” Individuals that had submitted passionate remarks to our Wailuku Arts District project survey were invited to select a favorite Wailuku place to be photographed while their feedback was collected.
In July 2022, we partnered with Moloka‘i-based photographer Mickey Pauole to capture 22 Humans of Wailuku as they responded to the question: “Why do you think it is valuable to connect each SMALL TOWN * BIG ART project to a specific proverb from Mary Kawena Pukui’s ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings?” Individuals that had submitted passionate remarks to our Wailuku Arts District project survey were invited to select a favorite Wailuku place to be photographed while their feedback was collected.
"Our kūpuna's profound poetry--succinct yet deeply layered--unveil uniquely Hawaiian ways of thinking. These wisdoms have the power to reshape our souls. Our family has felt this transformation as we turn to Pukui's treasured tome time after time. Not only to learn about whatever topics we may be pondering, but also to makawalu maps for continued exploration. For every staggering insight ʻŌlelo Noʻeau gifts us, there are tenfold subtle clues to unwrap. After all, all sources are indeed starting-points. Often, we grieve how much ʻike was lost via colonialization. But the works of Pukui are golden examples of my goodness, we have so much! And that wisdom has been cultivated and curated for millennia. What a legacy to malama. I'm so grateful to be of a place with such cultural abundance. I'm so grateful to be part of a community that champions that intelligence. With each of these public works of art having its taproot in Ōlelo Noʻeau, this forest of community creativty will surely flourish for generations." -- Anuhea Yagi & Baby Luana
"We should remember that Pukui just remembered those for us. So it is open to our own interpretation how it is. So she is quoted, but that is not her words. They are just her remembering the words of our kūpuna. Through ʻōlelo noʻeau, Pukui connected community members, and you can see that in every aspect of Hawaii." -- Ashley Lindsey
"At a glance, people do not immediately look at my freckles, pale skin, almond shaped eyes and think “Hooooo….Hawaiian!” In fact, I often felt ostracized and alienated for not being “Hawaiian enough,” despite an education from Kamehameha Schools and a genealogical chart carefully curated by my grandfather. Roots often cannot be seen, but they run deep through the earth and can be felt. After years of feeling disconnected from a culture, I realized you cannot run away from who you are. While I’m in deep meditation through art, I can finally feel connected, feel Hawaiian, feel acceptance. Those of us who haven’t grown up with olelo, lei making, paddling, dancing hula, etc…. We cannot begin to grasp the concepts of our ancestors without documentation carefully passed down. I have an immense gratitude for Mary Kawena Pukui’s insight and foresight to document these proverbs so that the stories, the language, the words, heart and soul of our ancestors…can be perpetuated and interpreted into several forms of art as well as every day life. Each generation is a reflection of the former, and these reflections can be warped and distorted as time goes by, which is why documentation is so crucial. I believe Kumu Kawena Pukui did this first and foremost as a means of survival…and now her translations have been immortalized in several other accessible art forms with a sense of permanence that will most likely outlast all of our lifetimes. “Wailuku i ka malu he kuawa” or “Wailuku in the shelter of the valley.” These words resonated so deeply with me and my artistic collaborator, Courtney Chargin. We are based in Wailuku, protected by Wailuku, and proud to find inspiration in this sacred place. I drive under and/or over the bridge every single day, inhaling and exhaling, finding the foundation in knowing that everything is going to be okay, somehow. I think about waking up early before field trips to go to Takamiya Market to grab bentos…I think about all the local makers who fill Paradise Now with aloha…the resilience and deep love for the small businesses like Request and countless others…artists like David Sandell and Philip Sabado who I looked up to since I was a little girl…born on Maui, raised in Waiehu, educated in Waihe’e, rooted in Wailuku." -- Bailey Onaga
"The ʻōlelo noʻeau that Mrs. Pukui compiled represent continuity of culture and values across centuries. Although the origins of the phrases that she preserved range in time from from extreme antiquity through to perhaps the early 1900s, so many are still commonly heard today. They exemplify values, lessons, and histories of the kūpuna which are still relevant and cherished. Connecting each work of public art to a specific ʻōlelo noʻeau will not only help to ensure that the artists can connect on a deeper level with our culture as they embark on their journeys of creation, but it can also serve to facilitate a deepened connection between the viewer, the art, and our home." -- Cody Pueo Pata
"The indigenous wisdom collected and preserved by Mary Kawena Pukui is fundamental to the identity and spirit of this place. The diverse multicultural community of Wailuku today can look to that place-based wisdom as a touchstone to maintain integrity and respectful connection with the ʻāina and people whose place it is, as well as with one another in multicultural Wailuku. I came to Hawaiʻi not to change Hawaiʻi, but to be changed by Hawaiʻi. And I a better because in small ways I have opened myself to the stories of this place and its people. Wailuku is where I've become more whole by heeding ʻōiwi wisdom in a Wailuku context. I am better, happier, stronger because I have opened myself to the influences that make Hawaiʻi Hawaiʻi." -- David Negaard
"It is a gift to collaboratively select a proverb from Mary Kawena Pukui's ‘Ōlelo No‘eau. The selected ‘Ōlelo No‘eau moors the work and helps to build a strong and powerful foundation that is deeply rooted in this place, its people and its culture. With a Hawaiian proverb as our substructure we are able to find tremendous freedom and growth during the creative process. It is common practice to drift inside the development of your art as you find your way. The support achieved from looking back to the base and knowing that you started with an inspiration that has deep meaning and poignancy is valuable. I feel that each ‘Ōlelo No‘eau that has been an inspiration for ST*BA works serves as an anchor point for the work itself and to the place of Wailuku. There has been an invisible thread woven between each work, whether it is a mural, animation, dance, sculpture or painting. The thread secured by different and impactful ‘Ōlelo No‘eau ties us to this place and connects us with reverence to the past." -- Hallie Hunt
"Language is the heart of a culture; it expresses what is most important, and what is sacred along with so much wisdom. Telling stories then alongside the spirit of one who dedicated her life to telling the stories of the hawaiian language and culture, in Hawaii and especially a sacred place like Wailuku, it a very profound act that we cannot even fully understand. Yet we are called to do it. I humbly submit to this endeavor." -- Jocelyn Romero Demirbag
"A community is a group of diverse people who come together because they have certain things in common such as their livelihoods, their life goals or certain causes which they support. In a geographic community, despite the diversity of its people in terms of race or national origin or economic status, one can often find a commonality in the values the community chooses to perpetuate. These values show their relationships to one another and to the natural environment in which they live. Public art is one way that a community can communicate and preserve its values. To be effective, the visual expression, whether print, dance, or other form, must arise out of a knowledge of the community, a knowledge held by the people of that community both now and in the past. Mary Kawena Pukui’s ‘Olelo No’eau is a compilation of such knowledge, sayings and proverbs rooted in the values of the various groups that inhabited these islands and expressed in the Hawaiian language. Our stories describe community values in action; the public artworks are community values expressed visually; the ‘Olelo No’eau are community values expressed in sayings that were in common use at one time in the life of the community. All three aspects of this project comprise the communication necessary for the values to be preserved and passed on. The message is clear whether the viewer is male or female, an existing or a new member of the community, an elderly person or a youth, a person of high, low or average wealth. Consider the steel sculpture Hina’i. It was inspired by the ‘Olelo No’eau ‘A’ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia (No task is too big when done together by all). The community value of working together to complete a task is not necessarily obvious if one only views the finished sculpture. One must read the ‘Olelo No’eau and be familiar with how the people worked together in the fields of pineapple and sugarcane to plant, nurture, and harvest the crops, how families relied on one another to accomplish difficult tasks and sometimes to survive, and how business owners came together in times of disaster to help one another rebuild." -- Caroline Kaho’iwai Peters Belsom
"E lauhoe mai na wa'a; i ke ka, i ka hoe; i ka hoe, i ke ka; pae aku i ka 'aina (Everybody paddle the canoes together; bail and paddle, paddle and bail, and the shore will be reached.) Our differences as a multicultural place can be respected and celebrated as we see and feel what we share between us: a sense of reverence and belonging of place. Acknowledging the intimate sacredness of what was before, the collective work and nurturing of what it is now, and our hopes for future generations to truly live the ancestors wisdom of Aloha aina. Art, in all of it’s infinite expressions, allows us to connect in this way, despite the many challenges we face." -- Kailani Jackson
"My grandparents grew up during a time when it was disadvantageous to speak their native language, whether that was Filipino, Chinese, or Hawaiian. That’s why they didn’t teach my parents to speak their native languages and instead pushed my mom and dad to learn English. My parents, in turn, weren’t able to teach these languages or their embedded values to my siblings and me. Luckily, I was raised during a time when attitudes on colonization and assimilation were changing and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi was celebrated rather than stigmatized. I was even more fortunate to be raised by family and loved ones who were able to help me realize that I can live a richer and fuller life by embracing the various parts of my heritage. They helped me to connect with the knowledge of my ancestors through tools like ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Connecting public works of art to ʻōlelo noʻeau perpetuates the thoughts and lives of the Hawaiians who created them and validates the world view reflected within each proverb. It allows people like me and my future children to learn from and appreciate the wisdom, beauty, and humor from our past so that we may be better prepared to face the future." -- Kauanoe Batangan
"I think it’s valuable to connect each work of public art to a specific proverb because it gives a cultural grounding to each piece, which is important especially if you want to connect to this community. In the end, the original and host culture is Hawaiian, and Pukui is Hawaiian and ‘Ōlelo No‘eau are Hawaiian proverbs. And so regardless of what you’re ethnicity is, where you’re from, and how long you’ve been here, it’s important to remember who and what the host culture is - and these proverbs are almost like a guide to life in some senses, and remind you to remain grounded and humble and not to forget that the Hawaiian culture is here no matter how much talk time goes by, no matter who comes and goes, no matter how many buildings go up and come down, no matter how many roads are built, and so on and so forth. The one that resonates with me the most is remaining amongst the tufts of grass and not elevating yourself. It just seems like in a lot of these ‘Ōlelo No‘eau that humility is one of many intertwining themes, and it’s always a good reminder to stay humble and to remain humble, especially in a community setting - no one person makes up a community, no matter how famous they may be or how wealthy they may be, humility goes a long way, no matter who you are, where you’re from, and the moves that you have." -- Lopaka White
"Connecting the works with a specific proverb helps to give them a historical and cultural significance that connects them with the past, present, and future of Wailuku town. The importance that we are all intertwined with our environment in a myriad of ways, and the ʻōlelo of the kūpuna is an essential guide and reminder of living pono. Wailuku is a living entity which continues to evolve and being able to reflect, interpret, and interact with the ʻōlelo ensures the perpetuation of those concepts and observations. Wailukuʻs diversity is grounded by ʻōlelo noʻeau." -- Michael & Rae Takemoto
"I lived in Wailuku from the mid-1970ʻs until the mid-1980ʻs, then moved to Kahului and then Kula. I have witnessed many changes and developments over the years. I remember it being a quiet little town where everything would close down when it got dark. Soon more housing projects were built and a variety of new businesses moved in. One of my first art exhibits was at Gallery 1999 (at 1999 Main Street). So Iʻve always had a special connection to Wailuku. I really respect and appreciate what ST*BA has done and continues to do to support and perpetuate the arts, culture, and humanities of Wailuku, Maui. Mahalo!" -- Michael Takemoto
"While we all have our own stories, all equally as important, Mary Kawena Pukui's book of ‘Ōlelo No‘eau connects us to Hawaiian thought and wisdom. We are all connected more than we realize, living out not only our own individual stories but group stories. Being connected to something that has withstood the test of time imparts ancient wisdom and offers modern culture a different path of thought and being. It keeps Hawaiian culture alive in Hawai'i." -- Sachelle Dae
"Well I think it is just an honor and a privilege first of all to be allowed to bring Mary Kawena Pukui into the forefront. She is an amazing resource, a kupuna of our time, and the works and the resources that she’s left with us will forever be a part of us as a Hawaiian culture. So using the ‘Ōlelo No‘eau as the foundation of our program, it just feels really really special that that can be. I don’t think that’s the norm - so hopefully these types of things can continue to come forth. I think that’s the secret sauce that helps to make this particular program special; it helps us to relate back to our kupuna and specifically honoring this place Wailuku." -- Sissy Lake-Farm
"Mary Kawena Pukui is revered as someone who did so much to preserve Hawaiian culture. She is such a pillar of Hawaiian history, it is appropriate that her work would be a foundation of ST*BA programming. One aspect of her work that is special to me is the way she was able to show the deep and poetic multi-layered meanings of olelo Hawaii through her translations, and in turn how that expressed the Hawaiian culture, rich and deep in tradition and meaning in the present time. If it wasn't for her work, so many things could have been lost for future generations. Her legacy is now embedded in Hawaiian culture and extends to all who call this place home. With the Halau of Oiwi Art being created, I see it as a continuation of her legacy. Gives me chicken skin, really, it's so special. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to have this project based in Wailuku. I think this relates with the work of Small Town*Big Art in the sense of preserving tradition while expressing deep meaning that goes beyond the surface. I love how the art we see around Wailuku town gives us a sense of place and cultural history in new and fresh ways, bringing the past and future together in the present. The advancement of culture not only through language, but through visual art, dance and music was core to her legacy. I think this is mirrored on the work of ST*BA. I think it's crucial to always keep in mind that no matter where we go in Hawai'i, we are walking on occupied Hawaiian lands. Even though I am a fifth generation pake born on O`ahu, I still consider myself to be a guest in this place. Hawaiian culture is rooted in tradition and place, so if we can look to these traditions and lifeways as guidance for how to live in a good way today, it can bring us together in mutual respect. If we can agree that the ancient wisdom brought forth from works such as Olelo Noeau is just as valuable and relevant today as it ever was, we can create a shared vision of how to move forward together to regenerate such a special place as Wailuku. For me as an "environmentalist" and an "artist," it only makes sense. I feel honored to have been asked to represent my Wailuku town for this project. Ever since my first visit to Maui as an adult, I have felt a strong connection with Wailuku, Iao Valley, and Na Wai Eha. I chose to live here to deepen my connection with this place and to participate in its revitalization, grounded in culture, a rich history and a future that preserves its special character and powerful energy." -- Tamara Li
"We should remember that Pukui just remembered those for us. So it is open to our own interpretation how it is. So she is quoted, but that is not her words. They are just her remembering the words of our kūpuna. Through ʻōlelo noʻeau, Pukui connected community members, and you can see that in every aspect of Hawaii." -- Ashley Lindsey
"At a glance, people do not immediately look at my freckles, pale skin, almond shaped eyes and think “Hooooo….Hawaiian!” In fact, I often felt ostracized and alienated for not being “Hawaiian enough,” despite an education from Kamehameha Schools and a genealogical chart carefully curated by my grandfather. Roots often cannot be seen, but they run deep through the earth and can be felt. After years of feeling disconnected from a culture, I realized you cannot run away from who you are. While I’m in deep meditation through art, I can finally feel connected, feel Hawaiian, feel acceptance. Those of us who haven’t grown up with olelo, lei making, paddling, dancing hula, etc…. We cannot begin to grasp the concepts of our ancestors without documentation carefully passed down. I have an immense gratitude for Mary Kawena Pukui’s insight and foresight to document these proverbs so that the stories, the language, the words, heart and soul of our ancestors…can be perpetuated and interpreted into several forms of art as well as every day life. Each generation is a reflection of the former, and these reflections can be warped and distorted as time goes by, which is why documentation is so crucial. I believe Kumu Kawena Pukui did this first and foremost as a means of survival…and now her translations have been immortalized in several other accessible art forms with a sense of permanence that will most likely outlast all of our lifetimes. “Wailuku i ka malu he kuawa” or “Wailuku in the shelter of the valley.” These words resonated so deeply with me and my artistic collaborator, Courtney Chargin. We are based in Wailuku, protected by Wailuku, and proud to find inspiration in this sacred place. I drive under and/or over the bridge every single day, inhaling and exhaling, finding the foundation in knowing that everything is going to be okay, somehow. I think about waking up early before field trips to go to Takamiya Market to grab bentos…I think about all the local makers who fill Paradise Now with aloha…the resilience and deep love for the small businesses like Request and countless others…artists like David Sandell and Philip Sabado who I looked up to since I was a little girl…born on Maui, raised in Waiehu, educated in Waihe’e, rooted in Wailuku." -- Bailey Onaga
"The ʻōlelo noʻeau that Mrs. Pukui compiled represent continuity of culture and values across centuries. Although the origins of the phrases that she preserved range in time from from extreme antiquity through to perhaps the early 1900s, so many are still commonly heard today. They exemplify values, lessons, and histories of the kūpuna which are still relevant and cherished. Connecting each work of public art to a specific ʻōlelo noʻeau will not only help to ensure that the artists can connect on a deeper level with our culture as they embark on their journeys of creation, but it can also serve to facilitate a deepened connection between the viewer, the art, and our home." -- Cody Pueo Pata
"The indigenous wisdom collected and preserved by Mary Kawena Pukui is fundamental to the identity and spirit of this place. The diverse multicultural community of Wailuku today can look to that place-based wisdom as a touchstone to maintain integrity and respectful connection with the ʻāina and people whose place it is, as well as with one another in multicultural Wailuku. I came to Hawaiʻi not to change Hawaiʻi, but to be changed by Hawaiʻi. And I a better because in small ways I have opened myself to the stories of this place and its people. Wailuku is where I've become more whole by heeding ʻōiwi wisdom in a Wailuku context. I am better, happier, stronger because I have opened myself to the influences that make Hawaiʻi Hawaiʻi." -- David Negaard
"It is a gift to collaboratively select a proverb from Mary Kawena Pukui's ‘Ōlelo No‘eau. The selected ‘Ōlelo No‘eau moors the work and helps to build a strong and powerful foundation that is deeply rooted in this place, its people and its culture. With a Hawaiian proverb as our substructure we are able to find tremendous freedom and growth during the creative process. It is common practice to drift inside the development of your art as you find your way. The support achieved from looking back to the base and knowing that you started with an inspiration that has deep meaning and poignancy is valuable. I feel that each ‘Ōlelo No‘eau that has been an inspiration for ST*BA works serves as an anchor point for the work itself and to the place of Wailuku. There has been an invisible thread woven between each work, whether it is a mural, animation, dance, sculpture or painting. The thread secured by different and impactful ‘Ōlelo No‘eau ties us to this place and connects us with reverence to the past." -- Hallie Hunt
"Language is the heart of a culture; it expresses what is most important, and what is sacred along with so much wisdom. Telling stories then alongside the spirit of one who dedicated her life to telling the stories of the hawaiian language and culture, in Hawaii and especially a sacred place like Wailuku, it a very profound act that we cannot even fully understand. Yet we are called to do it. I humbly submit to this endeavor." -- Jocelyn Romero Demirbag
"A community is a group of diverse people who come together because they have certain things in common such as their livelihoods, their life goals or certain causes which they support. In a geographic community, despite the diversity of its people in terms of race or national origin or economic status, one can often find a commonality in the values the community chooses to perpetuate. These values show their relationships to one another and to the natural environment in which they live. Public art is one way that a community can communicate and preserve its values. To be effective, the visual expression, whether print, dance, or other form, must arise out of a knowledge of the community, a knowledge held by the people of that community both now and in the past. Mary Kawena Pukui’s ‘Olelo No’eau is a compilation of such knowledge, sayings and proverbs rooted in the values of the various groups that inhabited these islands and expressed in the Hawaiian language. Our stories describe community values in action; the public artworks are community values expressed visually; the ‘Olelo No’eau are community values expressed in sayings that were in common use at one time in the life of the community. All three aspects of this project comprise the communication necessary for the values to be preserved and passed on. The message is clear whether the viewer is male or female, an existing or a new member of the community, an elderly person or a youth, a person of high, low or average wealth. Consider the steel sculpture Hina’i. It was inspired by the ‘Olelo No’eau ‘A’ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia (No task is too big when done together by all). The community value of working together to complete a task is not necessarily obvious if one only views the finished sculpture. One must read the ‘Olelo No’eau and be familiar with how the people worked together in the fields of pineapple and sugarcane to plant, nurture, and harvest the crops, how families relied on one another to accomplish difficult tasks and sometimes to survive, and how business owners came together in times of disaster to help one another rebuild." -- Caroline Kaho’iwai Peters Belsom
"E lauhoe mai na wa'a; i ke ka, i ka hoe; i ka hoe, i ke ka; pae aku i ka 'aina (Everybody paddle the canoes together; bail and paddle, paddle and bail, and the shore will be reached.) Our differences as a multicultural place can be respected and celebrated as we see and feel what we share between us: a sense of reverence and belonging of place. Acknowledging the intimate sacredness of what was before, the collective work and nurturing of what it is now, and our hopes for future generations to truly live the ancestors wisdom of Aloha aina. Art, in all of it’s infinite expressions, allows us to connect in this way, despite the many challenges we face." -- Kailani Jackson
"My grandparents grew up during a time when it was disadvantageous to speak their native language, whether that was Filipino, Chinese, or Hawaiian. That’s why they didn’t teach my parents to speak their native languages and instead pushed my mom and dad to learn English. My parents, in turn, weren’t able to teach these languages or their embedded values to my siblings and me. Luckily, I was raised during a time when attitudes on colonization and assimilation were changing and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi was celebrated rather than stigmatized. I was even more fortunate to be raised by family and loved ones who were able to help me realize that I can live a richer and fuller life by embracing the various parts of my heritage. They helped me to connect with the knowledge of my ancestors through tools like ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Connecting public works of art to ʻōlelo noʻeau perpetuates the thoughts and lives of the Hawaiians who created them and validates the world view reflected within each proverb. It allows people like me and my future children to learn from and appreciate the wisdom, beauty, and humor from our past so that we may be better prepared to face the future." -- Kauanoe Batangan
"I think it’s valuable to connect each work of public art to a specific proverb because it gives a cultural grounding to each piece, which is important especially if you want to connect to this community. In the end, the original and host culture is Hawaiian, and Pukui is Hawaiian and ‘Ōlelo No‘eau are Hawaiian proverbs. And so regardless of what you’re ethnicity is, where you’re from, and how long you’ve been here, it’s important to remember who and what the host culture is - and these proverbs are almost like a guide to life in some senses, and remind you to remain grounded and humble and not to forget that the Hawaiian culture is here no matter how much talk time goes by, no matter who comes and goes, no matter how many buildings go up and come down, no matter how many roads are built, and so on and so forth. The one that resonates with me the most is remaining amongst the tufts of grass and not elevating yourself. It just seems like in a lot of these ‘Ōlelo No‘eau that humility is one of many intertwining themes, and it’s always a good reminder to stay humble and to remain humble, especially in a community setting - no one person makes up a community, no matter how famous they may be or how wealthy they may be, humility goes a long way, no matter who you are, where you’re from, and the moves that you have." -- Lopaka White
"Connecting the works with a specific proverb helps to give them a historical and cultural significance that connects them with the past, present, and future of Wailuku town. The importance that we are all intertwined with our environment in a myriad of ways, and the ʻōlelo of the kūpuna is an essential guide and reminder of living pono. Wailuku is a living entity which continues to evolve and being able to reflect, interpret, and interact with the ʻōlelo ensures the perpetuation of those concepts and observations. Wailukuʻs diversity is grounded by ʻōlelo noʻeau." -- Michael & Rae Takemoto
"I lived in Wailuku from the mid-1970ʻs until the mid-1980ʻs, then moved to Kahului and then Kula. I have witnessed many changes and developments over the years. I remember it being a quiet little town where everything would close down when it got dark. Soon more housing projects were built and a variety of new businesses moved in. One of my first art exhibits was at Gallery 1999 (at 1999 Main Street). So Iʻve always had a special connection to Wailuku. I really respect and appreciate what ST*BA has done and continues to do to support and perpetuate the arts, culture, and humanities of Wailuku, Maui. Mahalo!" -- Michael Takemoto
"While we all have our own stories, all equally as important, Mary Kawena Pukui's book of ‘Ōlelo No‘eau connects us to Hawaiian thought and wisdom. We are all connected more than we realize, living out not only our own individual stories but group stories. Being connected to something that has withstood the test of time imparts ancient wisdom and offers modern culture a different path of thought and being. It keeps Hawaiian culture alive in Hawai'i." -- Sachelle Dae
"Well I think it is just an honor and a privilege first of all to be allowed to bring Mary Kawena Pukui into the forefront. She is an amazing resource, a kupuna of our time, and the works and the resources that she’s left with us will forever be a part of us as a Hawaiian culture. So using the ‘Ōlelo No‘eau as the foundation of our program, it just feels really really special that that can be. I don’t think that’s the norm - so hopefully these types of things can continue to come forth. I think that’s the secret sauce that helps to make this particular program special; it helps us to relate back to our kupuna and specifically honoring this place Wailuku." -- Sissy Lake-Farm
"Mary Kawena Pukui is revered as someone who did so much to preserve Hawaiian culture. She is such a pillar of Hawaiian history, it is appropriate that her work would be a foundation of ST*BA programming. One aspect of her work that is special to me is the way she was able to show the deep and poetic multi-layered meanings of olelo Hawaii through her translations, and in turn how that expressed the Hawaiian culture, rich and deep in tradition and meaning in the present time. If it wasn't for her work, so many things could have been lost for future generations. Her legacy is now embedded in Hawaiian culture and extends to all who call this place home. With the Halau of Oiwi Art being created, I see it as a continuation of her legacy. Gives me chicken skin, really, it's so special. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to have this project based in Wailuku. I think this relates with the work of Small Town*Big Art in the sense of preserving tradition while expressing deep meaning that goes beyond the surface. I love how the art we see around Wailuku town gives us a sense of place and cultural history in new and fresh ways, bringing the past and future together in the present. The advancement of culture not only through language, but through visual art, dance and music was core to her legacy. I think this is mirrored on the work of ST*BA. I think it's crucial to always keep in mind that no matter where we go in Hawai'i, we are walking on occupied Hawaiian lands. Even though I am a fifth generation pake born on O`ahu, I still consider myself to be a guest in this place. Hawaiian culture is rooted in tradition and place, so if we can look to these traditions and lifeways as guidance for how to live in a good way today, it can bring us together in mutual respect. If we can agree that the ancient wisdom brought forth from works such as Olelo Noeau is just as valuable and relevant today as it ever was, we can create a shared vision of how to move forward together to regenerate such a special place as Wailuku. For me as an "environmentalist" and an "artist," it only makes sense. I feel honored to have been asked to represent my Wailuku town for this project. Ever since my first visit to Maui as an adult, I have felt a strong connection with Wailuku, Iao Valley, and Na Wai Eha. I chose to live here to deepen my connection with this place and to participate in its revitalization, grounded in culture, a rich history and a future that preserves its special character and powerful energy." -- Tamara Li