Smithsonian Curator to Share ‘Ae Kai Exhibit During Free Lecture

Kona Historical Society reports that Kālewa Correa, Curator of Hawai‘i and the Pacific for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), will be the featured presenter of this month’s Hanohano O Kona lecture series, held at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 29.

Kālewa Correa. Courtesy photo.

This presentation will include photos and discussion of the Smithsonian exhibit “‘Ae Kai: A Culture Lab on Convergence.”

The exhibit was on display in July, 2017 in the former site of Foodland in Ala Moana Center, and explored the meeting points of humanity and nature in Hawaiʻi, the Pacific Islands and beyond. ‘Ae Kai continued Smithsonian APAC’s practice of community building through curated artmaking. Most of ‘Ae Kai’s participants are based or rooted in Hawaiʻi, with the majority of artists identifying as Pacific Islanders.

His presentation will also feature the concept, “Hilina‘i: Museums Building a Community of Trust,” which is based around the conceptualization of 21st century museum collections. As opposed to collecting “things” the museums of the future need to work with communities to collect stories both traditional and contemporary that contextualize place and time. In order for these interactions to organically happen there needs to be a level of mutual trust achieved between the storytellers and curators.

Correa is a historian, musician, farmer, and Polynesian futurist melding the traditional practices of his ancestors with emerging virtual technologies to ensure the preservation of cultural landscapes throughout Hawai‘i and the Pacific.

In his role at the Smithsonian Institute he has been able to explore the transformation of artist communities and collaboration through the “pop-up” Culture Lab exhibition model.

His previous work and collaborations include NOAA, Google, Liquid Robotics and the University of Hawai‘i.

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