September 12 - November 7
Artwork Receiving Day: Tuesday, September 2nd / 9 am-6 pm @ Hui No’eau
Opening Reception: Friday, September 12th / 5 - 7 pm
Juror Walkthrough: Friday, September 12th / 4 - 5 pm
Jurors: Inger Tully & Zach Pezzillo
ABOUT MĀLAMA WAO AKUA
Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center in collaboration with East Maui Watershed Partnership (EMWP) brings you Mālama Wao Akua (Caring for the Realm of the Gods) – a juried art exhibition celebrating the native species of Maui Nui (Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, Kaho‘olawe). We invite Maui artists to explore our watersheds and use their creative talents to raise awareness about the importance of protecting native species.
Selected artwork should be successful in sharing knowledge of the watersheds and native species with others in a meaningful way. Artwork will also be selected based upon a number of criteria, including originality of concept, creativity, technique, professionalism, and presentation. Our hope is that Maui artists of all ages will explore our watersheds and express the value that native species have within our daily life. This exhibition is sure to provide powerful visuals that celebrate Maui’s native plant and animal life. A jurying team with expertise in both art and conservation will select from among the pool of entries. Works in any medium are welcome!
Learn more at malamawaoakua.org!
Important Dates
Online Registration: August 19 – September 2
Online Priority Registration Deadline: Tuesday, August 26 at midnight
Artwork Receiving Day: Tuesday, September 2 / 9am-6pm (Hui No‘eau)
Selection Notification (via website): by Thursday, September 4 by 6pm
Pick-up of Non-selected Work: Friday, September 5 / 9am-4pm
Pick-up of Selected Work: Saturday, November 8 / 9am-4pm
HOW TO ENTER
1. Complete online registration between Aug. 19 - Sept. 2. (Online entry form will become available here on Aug. 19.)
Online Registration must be completed PRIOR to dropping off artwork on receiving day
2. Print & fill out artwork labels and attach to the back upper right hand corner of artwork.
3. Drop off artwork on Tuesday, Sept. 2nd from 9am-6pm during our artwork receiving day.
info session recording from 2024
Teachers
Please use our TEACHER ONLINE ENTRY FORM if you are a teacher entering multiple student submissions for Mālama Wao Akua 2025. If you are NOT a teacher part of a class please complete the individual online form.
The teacher form allows for entry of up to 10 students/entries, if you are submitting more than 10 students/entries, please complete the form again with any additional submissions. Students may enter up to 3 pieces each.
How Do I Enter My Students/Class?
Complete an online entry form(s) to account for each piece being entered by your students
Complete payment
The youth entry fee is $5 per piece
Attach artwork labels to the back upper right-hand corner of all artwork
Deliver artwork on Receiving Day: Tuesday, September 2nd / 9am-6pm / Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center
ABOUT the jurors
Inger Tully
Inger Tully currently serves as the Director of Philanthropy for Maui County at the Hawaii Community Foundation. Prior to this role she worked in the arts for 15 years including positions as the Director of Development - Maui Arts & Cultural Center; Associate Curator - Contemporary Art, Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), and Curator of Exhibitions and Curator of Education - The Contemporary Museum (TCM), Honolulu. Inger has participated in curating exhibitions such as The Biennial (TCM) and Artists of Hawaii (HoMA) and currently serves as a Visual Arts Consultant for the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA). She received her BFA in Photography from University of Hawaii at Manoa and MFA in Museum Studies from University of the Arts, PA. In her free time, she can be found in the ocean or on a mountain trail.
Zach Pezzillo
Zach Pezzillo, Coordinator for the Maui Nui Plant Extinction Prevention Program, has been involved in conservation here in Hawaiʻi for many years. Growing up on Maui, his interest in and enthusiasm for plants and invertebrates began at a young age and deepened as he learned about native species and their ecological importance. After graduating from college, he came home and began pursuing a career in conservation — first working for the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project before heading out to Papahānaumokuākea to conduct habitat restoration on Hōlanikū (the last atoll) for two years. He returned to the MFBRP in 2019 before switching over to the botanical world of PEPP in 2021, working to preserve Maui Nui’s rarest flora. Additionally, Zach is a well-regarded, award-winning photographer and uses his skills to promote awareness and appreciation for some of Hawai’i’s most endangered, and overlooked, native species.
Any interested or participating individual who requires special accommodations to fully participate in a program, service, or activity should contact Hui staff at the time of registration, or at least 7 days prior to the program/event start date. Please contact the Hui’s Exhibition Manager, Josephine Bergill-Gentile at josephine@huinoeau.com or call 808-572-6560 x23.