Hawaiian Culture & Arts
Puʻuhonua Society
Puʻuhonua Society, a third generation Native Hawaiian women-led non-profit organization based in Honolulu, creates opportunities for Native Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-based creatives to express themselves and engage with diverse audiences.
Active at the intersections of contemporary art, traditional cultural practices, environmental stewardship, and transformational education, our seven interwoven initiatives support those who serve as translators, mediators, and amplifiers of social justice issues within Hawaiʻi's communities.
The programming at Pu'uhonua Society reskills our community members and encourages them to reimagine and reorganize our society to equitably include and advocate for Native Hawaiian knowledge. Our work addresses the profound need for accessible arts programming in Hawaiʻi that is created by and for people of place.
Kūkolu
Inspired by the moon phase symbolizing growth and expansion, Kūkolu was founded with aloha lāhui—a deep love for our Hawaiian community, its culture, people, and potential.
At Kūkolu, we believe in the transformative power of collective action rooted in shared purpose. Our programs uplift Indigenous women and artists as catalysts for community abundance. A cornerstone initiative is the Indigenous Women’s Incubator (IWI), which supports Native Hawaiian wāhine entrepreneurs with resources and community to build sustainable businesses, including a dedicated Maui cohort providing targeted support for resilience and recovery.
Through our Backbone Services, we offer essential organizational support to Native Hawaiian and Indigenous businesses. In response to the devastating fires in Lahaina, we introduced the Re-Tool & Rebuild Program—supporting local community in their recovery journey by offering construction workers the tools necessary to be a part of the rebuild.
Our Indigenous Creatives program connects artists with meaningful community opportunities, while also investing in the next generation through various Scholarship Programs by Indigenous Artists, which provide funding to emerging creatives across Hawaiʻi.
Mana Maoli
Culture-Based Music & Video Production Program
Mana Maoli is a Hawaiian nonprofit organization that founded Hālau Kū Māna New Century Public Charter School, Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy, and the Mana Mele Project. The Mana Mele Project consists of 3 primary components:
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a 4-in-1 solar-powered mobile studio named Meleana, that can provide both studio and live event services in audio and video production.
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a Music & Multimedia Academy - currently at over 70 year-long classes across 20 schools on 3 islands that focus on Mana Maoliʻs ABCʻs - Academics, Business and Culture through music and/or video production. Additional services include short-term mentorships and internships, artist school visits, collaborative music videos and more.
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the Mana Maoli Collective: over 200 Creative Industries Professionals, both musical and digital storytellers, who have committed to sharing their time and talents with thousands of youth each year, in order to bring our mobile studio and Music & Multimedia Academy to life!
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Project Kuleana
Historical Research, Songwriting & Music Video Production
Project KULEANA was created by three Native Hawaiian men who share the perspective that KULEANA is what makes music Hawaiian. Project KULEANA aspires to increase the innate value of Hawaiian music and the performance of it to inspire people to reflect on one's own KULEANA.
Project KULEANA seeks to encourage people to re-discover, re-connect and re-instill what Hawaiian music and performers of Hawaiian music represent.
