Supported by a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs

On the evening of October 31, 2004, a flash flood surged through Hamilton Library, breaking windows and covering books, government records, photographs, manuscripts and maps under eight feet of muddy water. Lynn Davis, who headed the huge recovery effort to save collections from further damage, facilitates this session. Anyone who works with libraries, archives or values personal collections on paper should attend this free session.

Open free to the public.
Light refreshments provided, City and County underground parking available.

Keynote Speech: The Bi-Cultural Museum
Arapata Hakiwai, Director
Matauranga Maori, Te Papa Museum, New Zealand

Arapata Hakiwai has extensive museum experience, in and out of New Zealand, including 15 years at Te Papa and at the National Museum as Curator and Collection Manager. He was Te Papa’s Manager of Bi-cultural Operations from 1998 to 2001. As director of the Matauranga Maori division, he directs Maori research, and has been responsible for strengthening Te Papa’s relationships and collaborative opportunities with iwi (tribes) and related organizations.

Visit the restaurants in the area-—there are a variety of tastes and settings to be experienced. Use the map provided by HMA to plan an enjoyable lunch with a fellow HMA member!

Hawaii’s ali‘i recognized the importance of establishing a safe haven for cultural treasures, especially in the 19th century setting of dramatic change stimulated by foreign contact. Western museums provided one model of a protected treasure house, and for the ali‘i who traveled abroad, visits to such institutions impressed them. Dr. Rose will speak on the how ali‘i supported the earliest museums established in Hawai‘i, the history and role of the Hawaiian National Museum, and the subsequent generations of museums and historical societies.

Dr. Rose is an anthropologist (Harvard University, 1971) whose in-depth research has resulted in exhibits and publications on Pacific ethnology. In 1980, Bishop Museum published Rose’s A Museum to Instruct and Delight, which documents the move to establish a Hawaiian museum and the inception of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. Rose has continued his study of museums in Hawai‘i, their collections, and the challenges faced by historical institutions in the Islands.

Refreshments and self guided tour of the galleries.
Courtesy of the Hawai‘i State Art Museum

Find out the answer to this and many other intriguing questions during a walking tour of Kawaiaha‘o Church Cemetery and the Mission Houses Cemetery with noted graveyard historian Nanette Napoleon. Join her as she shares some of her interesting tombstone tales and takes you into the fascinating world of graveyard art, culture and history.

Nanette Napoleon has been studying and documenting historic graveyards in Hawai‘i for over 20 years, and is considered to be the state’s leading authority on these sites. Her work has included documenting over 30,000 individual tombstone inscriptions in over 200 graveyards around the state. She is also the author of the book, O‘ahu Cemetery Burial Ground & Historic Site. Nanette is a long-time member of the Association for Gravestone Studies, which is an international organization of cemetery researchers and scholars, and is a former charter member of the Island of O‘ahu Burial Council.

Space is limited to the first 40. $15 per person.

In early 2006 the Honolulu Academy of Arts will present a major exhibition of rare material artifacts collected during the second and third Pacific Ocean voyages of Captain James Cook (1728 – 79), between 1768 and 1780. This talk will describe the genesis of the exhibition, and explore key issues raised in the course of its development. The exhibition is being organized by the Academy in cooperation with the Institute for Ethnology at the George August University of Göttingen in Lower Saxony, Germany, where in the 1780s the word “ethnology” was first used. This collection of early Pacific artifacts has until now been known primarily to anthropologists and scientists. The Academy’s exhibition will present over five hundred objects from New Zealand, Tonga, Tahiti and the Society Islands, the Marquesas, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Hawai‘i, and the Northwest Coast of America; thirty-five of the works come from Hawai‘i. The works in the exhibition were either presented as gifts to Captain Cook, or traded for Western goods by the officers, scholars, and seamen accompanying Cook on his voyages.

Stephen Little received his B.A. from Cornell University (1975), M.A. from U.C.L.A. (1977), and Ph.D. from Yale University (1987). He has served as curator for several major exhibitions featuring Asian art. Little is an authority on Chinese and Japanese art and his research interests include Chinese and Japanese painting, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese ceramics, and the classical arts of Southeast Asia. His publications include, Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period (1983), Visions of the Dharma (1991), Taoism and the Arts of China (2000), and The Alsdorf Collection of Japanese Paintings (2004).

What’s new in the Hawai‘i museum scene? Learn about the exciting Heritage District project, the new Museum Studies Program at the University of Hawai‘i, and what’s current at Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center. There’s an opportunity for other members to present news from their institution as well—sign up at morning registration to present the latest and greatest information about your museum!

Join us for the annual business meeting of the Hawai‘i Museums Association at the Charles Kana‘ina Building and a local-style bento lunch. Make sure you attend since new board members will be elected at that time.

Bento lunch and beverage can be ordered, $10. (see registration form)

Facilitated by Kehau Abad, Anthropologist. Panelists: Arapata Hakiwai (Director of Matauranga Maori, Te Papa Museum); Jacquelyn A. Lewis-Harris (Consultant); Noelle Kahanu (Education Specialist, Bishop Museum)

The National Museum of the American Indian presented a strong example of how Native cultures and artifacts can be interpreted as part of a living history. But the opening of this museum created controversy. Who is responsible for the interpretation of indigenous cultural materials at museums? Are there models to draw upon that combine voices from traditional and academic scholars to present fuller interpretations? How is this done? Dr. Abad will lead panel members in a discussion about their experience and thoughts about cultural interpretation within a museum setting.

State government legislation affects museums in many ways. State funding, in particular, is frequently requested, but rarely approved. In this session, State Representative, Corrine Ching will give valuable insights into the often “mysterious” world of state legislation, and what issues pertaining to museums, culture and the arts were discussed this legislative session. Representative Ching has been representing the Liliha-Palama District since 2002, and has served on the Tourism & Culture, Higher Education, and Economic Development & Business Concerns committees. She is also the founder of the Annual Historic Fun Run/Walk in Liliha-Palama, and is a former board member of Nova Arts Foundation and Historic Hawaii Foundation.

Small museums enrich the neighborhoods they are a part of. They can also be the targets of theft, vandalism and other threats to the welfare of the staff, visitors, structures and the community and that values the collections and sense of place the museum represents and interprets. Johnny Rouse will speak about security awareness, basic precautions and simple operating procedures that can lessen the security risks at your site.

Johnny Rouse was Chief of Security at the Honolulu Academy of Arts for ten years. He worked in the same capacity at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, before returning to Honolulu where he is the Security Manager at ‘Iolani Palace. He is active member of the Museum Security Network.

This program features a special showing of “The Massie Affair” documentary film recently shown at the Spring Hawai‘i Film Festival and on the highly acclaimed television program American Experience. The sensational Massie rape case and subsequent Kahahawai murder case made national headlines, and nearly resulted in Martial Law being declared in the Islands. Following the film, Nanette will talk about her work on this project and the story about her grandfather who was one of the jurors on the infamous murder trial, which included the famous Clarence Darrow as the defense attorney.

Open to the public. $15 per person.