Collect Hawaii Special Arts Fund

Hawaii’s arts community is breathing a collective sigh of relief, at least for now.

A Senate committee on Tuesday delayed House Bill 1807, which proposed changes to the Special Arts Fund that would significantly reduce funding for arts and arts education programs run by the state Cultural Arts Foundation.

HB 1807, filed by state Rep. Kyle Yamashita (D-Pukalani-Kula), would give the state’s nearly 60-year-old public places arts program a fraction of the original state building construction costs, rather than renovation costs. He proposed appropriating 1%.

Karen Ewald, executive director of the Hawai’i Cultural Arts Foundation, said the change would result in significant cuts to its programming and could result in the closure of Capitol Modern, the state museum downtown.

The committee also approved House Bills of 1939 and 1940 to provide greater access to the arts to communities in need, including areas affected by Maui’s wildfires, and to support planned projects. Funds were earmarked for the SFCA to incorporate the arts into capital improvement projects.

“I would like to thank the Senate Transportation, Culture, and Arts Committee for passing HB1939 and HB1940 and listening carefully to community concerns regarding HB1807HD2,” Ewald said in a statement.

She told the Star-Advertiser that if HB1807 passes, the foundation’s annual income will be cut by an estimated 90% and Capitol Modern’s operations will end.

According to the most recent annual report, the Percentage for the Arts program totals approximately $5.5 million annually.

artists speak out

Hundreds of artists, including Hawaiian artists and arts groups from across the state, flooded the floor of the Senate Transportation, Culture and Arts Committee on Tuesday to testify against the bill.

Hawaiian artists, teachers and curators representing visual arts, theater, music and poetry spoke passionately about art as a form of identity, culture and the heartbeat of community.

They say art creates a sense of community and when a community is hurt, art can heal. This is more important than ever for communities like Lahaina in the aftermath of the Aug. 8 wildfires.

Artists also objected to the bill, saying the state “has a surplus of art currently in storage for current and future use.”

Honolulu artist Eric Sullivan attested that art “is not a commodity that is accumulated until a certain quota is met” but “is a living, evolving expression of our society and its values.” .

The King Kamehameha Celebration Committee submitted testimony in opposition to the bill, along with Hawaii Arts Alliance, Hawaii Craftsmen, Kahilu Theatre, Maui Arts and Culture Center, Maui Dance Council and others.

Rosina Potter, executive director of Hawaii Contemporary, which produces the Hawaii Triennale, was also relieved to see the bill postponed.

The Hawaii Triennial, scheduled to run from February 15 to May 4, 2025, will be in jeopardy if Capitol Modern can no longer be used as an exhibition space.

“We had already invited 12 to 15 artists who were scheduled to reside in the space,” she said. “Not only did we lose money, we would have had to raise even more money to make up for the loss of that space.”

A great deal of advance planning has gone into the state’s largest exhibition of contemporary art from Hawaii, the Pacific and other regions, she said.

With support from SFCA, the 2025 Triennial will expand to include Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii, generating substantial economic activity.

“I don’t think the state recognizes the impact this has on real people,” she says. “They think a lot about the artwork in their offices and the artwork they see around them, but literally thousands of students have the opportunity to practice creatively. of the creative workforce.”

ready to defend

Kailua artist Jody Endicott, creator of “What’s Next,” a sculpture of a man reading a newspaper on Bishop Street, said the bill is short-sighted.

She is open to championing the arts for the public again in the future, as the past decade or so has seen numerous attempts to defund the arts with similar bills.

She said the arts are often neglected and devalued when budgets are tight, but they are an essential economic driver for the state’s vitality and appeal as a destination.

Additionally, it is a powerhouse of health and mental health, and she has seen it work magic with schoolchildren.

“I don’t know how many artists are artists because there was trauma and they’re healing,” she said Tuesday, demonstrating with a sketch. “They want to bring beauty into the world to cover up the bad and soften the edges.”

Eric Johnson, artistic director of Honolulu Theater for Youth, said there is a misconception that the program is just about painting on walls.

He said the nonprofit’s programs, which provide sensory-friendly theater experiences for children with special needs, would have been affected.

He looks forward to conversations about how to find new avenues to fund more arts programs, rather than fewer.

“We are known as an arts-friendly state,” he says. “Let’s not lose that. Let’s build on that.”

There was little, if any, strong testimony to support this action.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser asked Yamashita, who is also chairman of the House Finance Committee, for an opportunity to comment on the bill’s delay, but did not hear back by press time Thursday.

State Sen. Chris Lee, the committee chair, thanked the artists for taking the time to discuss the bill.

“I don’t think it was anyone’s intention to harm or disadvantage the arts community. To take away funding, to sacrifice people who have legitimate livelihoods, culture, everything. “It was never anyone’s intention to do something like that,” he said. This line. “

He said the debate is not whether to fund art, but how to fund it and the availability of other potential forms of income.

“I hope this is the start of a constructive conversation,” he said.

In 1967, Hawaii became the first state in the United States to adopt the “Artworks Percentage Law,” which stipulated that 1% of the construction costs for new state offices be earmarked for the acquisition of works of art. In 1989, a special art fund was created, and 1% of the renovation costs were added to capital improvement projects.

The Art in Public Places program acquires artwork and commissions artists to create artwork for specific locations. We also support arts education in schools and community programs.

Artwork is displayed in more than 640 locations across the state, including schools, libraries, airports, state offices, and the state Capitol.

In September, the Hawaii State Art Museum, formerly known as HiSAM, rebranded to Capitol Modern.

The free public contemporary art museum hosts a variety of events and showcases some of the local artwork from the Public Places Art program.