Bishop Museum, the State of Hawai‘i Museum of Natural and Cultural History, has added two new cultural installations to its historic Hawaiian Hall Complex that will uplift both traditional and contemporary Native Hawaiian themes and movements, according to a news release.
The Honolulu museum is rotating 15 new pieces into the “Ea Mai ‘Eiwa: Patterns of Practice” exhibition that runs through Feb. 15. The rotation includes works by ‘Eiwa’s three exhibiting artists, the late Nālani Kanakaʻole, Sig Zane, Kūhaʻoʻīmaikalani Zane and their collaborators.
“2026 is the year of Nālani Kanakaʻole,” said Sarah Kuaiwa, Ph.D., Bishop Museum curator for Hawai‘i and Pacific Resources, and ‘Eiwa co-curator.
“We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to tell more stories around the collaboration between Nālani Kanakaʻole, her ʻōlapa (students) and ʻohana (family),” Kuaiwa said.
The revered kuma hula and cultural matriarch passed away on Jan. 3.
A major exhibition theme is the evolution of traditional craft genres.
The pā’ū (skirt) is the most important garment worn by hula practitioners. As creative director of Hālau o Kekuhi, Kanakaʻole experimented with traditional and modern materials and technical folding and binding techniques to enliven and complement her choreography. Her design theory influenced many contemporary kumu hula.
In 2020, Kanakaʻole created a series of pāʻū titled “The Five Wives of Kumukahi (2020)” inspired by Kumu Hula Joseph ʻĪlālāʻole’s (1873–1965) moʻolelo (story) of the same name. Seldom seen since their creation, “The Five Wives of Kumukahi” pays homage to Kanakaʻole’s teachers and fashion influences.
Also new to the museum’s Hawaiian Hall is the installation of a treasure case that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana. The installation, “Kanaloa ka Laʻa o Kohemālamalama: Unconquerable is the Divinity of Kohemālamalama,” runs through April 2027.
It brings together historical objects and archival materials from museum collections, many of them associated with archaeologist John F. G. Stokes’ 1913 visits to Kahoʻolawe and his documentation of Kamōhio Bay.
Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his wife Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a royal descendant of King Kamehameha I. With a collection of more than 25 million objects and specimens, it is widely regarded as the world’s premier institution for Hawaiian and Pacific content.
To learn more. visit BishopMuseum.org.
