Healoha Johnston Presents Art and Artists of Hawai‘i Island

Healoha Johnston. Courtesy photo.

Healoha Johnston, curator for the Honolulu Museum of Art, will share her knowledge and expertise in a free lecture about the art and artists of Hawai‘i Island as part of Kona Historical Society’s Hanohano `O Kona Lecture Series. The lecture takes place on Wed., Aug. 30, 2017, at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center in Kailua-Kona from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Healoha’s presentation will look at how a recent exhibition and an upcoming exhibition drew upon the rich history of Hawai‘i to better understand our present day circumstances. She will provide an overview of a recent Honolulu Museum of Art exhibition, Hawai‘i in Design, that featured 10 designers, including several artists from Hawai‘i Island who all reference Hawai‘i’s environment—built, natural, and virtual—and are at the confluence of deeply rooted aesthetic principles mingled with global impulses. She will also provide a preview of a forthcoming exhibition in 2018 that focuses on the King Kalākaua era and rich material culture that emerged during his reign.

Healoha previously served as an assistant curator at the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and ran a small photography gallery in San Diego while curating contemporary photography exhibitions at the San Diego Natural History museum. She has also applied her research skills to other areas like the Hula Preservation Society, where she assisted in the development of museum methodology practice and as a policy specialist for NOAA and the Marine National Monument Plans.

The Kona Historical Society’s Hanohano `O Kona Lecture Series is held every last Wednesday of the month. This series features local and state speakers sharing knowledge of a wide variety of cultural and historical subjects. Presented by Kona Historical Society, in cooperation with the County of Hawai‘i, this lecture series is a gift from the society to the community that has supported it for so long. Free of charge, it is open to all, residents and visitors alike.

For more information, call Kona Historical Society at (808) 323-3222 or visit www.konahistorical.org.