March is Youth Art Month on the Big Island, and the East Hawai’i Cultural Center is celebrating with a number of initiatives and collaborations.
Kalakaua Park’s “egg-cellent” installation of chicken automata accompanied by fluttering flags decorated with egg themes was decorated by students from Connections Public Charter School, Honokaa Elementary afterschool program, Hilo High School Art Club, Waiakea Intermediate School Art Club, and Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts and Sciences. The automata were designed together with the Hawai’i Science and Technology Museum (HSTM).
Also on view is the 35th Annual Young At Art Juried Exhibition, which recognizes the creativity of K-12 students on Hawai’i Island from public, charter, private or home schools. The 231 selected artworks are showcased at 26 locations around the island. The East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center website has a full list of these locations.
On Saturday, March 11, Museum Square (an initiative of Mokupapapa Discovery Center, Pacific Tsunami Museum, HSTM, and EHCC) is presenting a family-friendly Art Walk from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The free event invites keiki and their families to explore downtown Hilo, specifically the Young At Art satellite locations and the interactive Kalakaua Park installation in addition to activities, demos, discounts, giveaways and more.
EHCC is also offering a spring break Coloring Book Creation Workshop from 10am – 2:30pm on Monday, March 13 through Friday, March 17. Classes will be led by local Illustrator Yuko Green. Participants will create a coloring book focusing on Mālama. They will also be introduced to native Hawaiian plants and animals, as well as canoe plants (plants Polynesians brought to Hawai‘i on their canoes, such as taro). Each student will keep a copy of the book, with additional copies available for purchase as a program fundraiser.
The East Hawaʻi Cultural Center is located at 141 Kalakaua Street in Hilo and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit ehcc.org, call 961-5711.
Photo credit: East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center