A day as an art tourist in Honolulu
Just steps from the harbor, and cruise ship terminal,
a eclectic Arts District thrives in Honolulu's historic Old Town.
Hawaii's largest urban area is home to nearly half of the state's residents. It is situated on a flat strip of land between it's famous beaches, including Waikiki beach and a long spine of volcanic mountains. Honolulu is home to a vibrant mix of populations including many of Asian descent, transplants from "off island" and the indiginous Polynesian population. We had only one day to explore this unique city.
We were on a cruise, so our starting point was the cruise ship terminal in downtown. I wanted to explore the unique cultural life of this Islani city in the few available hours.
One of the quickest was to get off of the tourist grid in any city is to take public transportation, so we armed ourselves with plenty of dollar bills and set off from the cruise ship terminal. Our first destination was the The Contemporary Museum of Hawaii in the hills high above downtown Honolulu. With the help of several friendly locals, we soon found our way to the #2 bus which took us to the stop for the #15 up through Makiki Heights to the Contemporary Museum. The #2 took us past the Acadamy of Arts which has an outstanding Asian Art collection, so it was with great regret that we passed it by.
The whole trip took about an hour. Makiki Heights' hillside homes are surrounded by lush gardens with stunning views of the city and coastline. This was clearly one of Honolulu's wealthy neighborhoods. We felt like locals, riding along with people carrying their groceries, hoisting their bicycles onto the bike rack and generally going about their business.
We had arranged to meet local artist, Frances Hill for lunch at the lunch at the Museum Cafe to learn about her work as president of the Hawaii Watercolor Society. Frances brought an excellent bottle of Bordeaux which we enjoyed with a delicious meal.
Honolulu's stratospheric real estate prices create tremendous challenges to the arts community. Frances described the economic difficulties of survival for Hawaii's artists and arts organizations. Homes are small and expensive, so most artists work outside on a balcony or lanai. Commercial rents are also high, so it is difficult to maintain cultural activities not focused on extracting maximum revenue from tourists. Frances also spok of a "brain drain" of Hawaii's college educated young people who find greater economic opportunities on the mainland.
Frances told us about the Honolulu Arts District in Chinatown, where locally owned galleries are housed in historic buildngs. She gave us a ride, and surprisingly, we were back where we started, just steps from the cruise terminal and our ship.
"On the eastern edge of Chinatown and in old town Honolulu lies an eclectic and diverse neighborhood. In a span of just over 12 blocks over 25 arts-related businesses, two theatres, two performance art venues, an alternative movie theater, and some of Honolulu’s trendiest nightclubs and restaurants coexist in buildings built at the end of the19th century. Experience a nascent arts scene and dine at over 75 ethnic and Southeast Asian restaurants in the surrounding neighborhood."
Quoted from www.artsdistricthonolulu.com
This was the polar opposite of glitzy Wakiki beach and endless tourist shops. We were in heaven! The rest of our day was spent in a gallery crawl. We were recieved graciously in the Pegge Hopper Gallery where we admired the artist's figure paintings of Polynesian women. We came away with two packs of reasonably priced greeting cards and a calendar featuring Hopper's work .
Our next stop was the The ARTS at Marks Garage, a non-profit community project of Hawai‘i Arts Alliance with the ambitious mission to: "transform downtown Honolulu with the power of the arts".
The gallery featured "Archipelago and Remains of a Rainbow", a fascinating photographic exhibit of Hawaii's endangered flora and fauna which will run through January 2009.
After a few more hours of happily browsing through galleries and curio shops, we recalled that Frances had reccomended Murphys Bar and Grill where we rested our aching feet and absorbed the friendly "local pub" atmosphere along with a pint of Smithwicks Ale.
It was a great day. We had made a new friend and escaped the tourist traps. We had found some unique and useful souveniers. Our only regret was that we did not have more time to explore Honolulu's art scene.
Read the Artpoints article on the Hawaii Watercolor Society here.
Read the Atrpoints review of the Contemporary Museum here.
For more information on the vibrant Honolulu Arts District visit:
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