Exhibit Deserves Worldwide Media Attention

We are the largest anti-war art exhibit in the United States today. We are very likely the largest and longest collective exhibition of this kind since before the fall of Saddam Hussein! We are artists doing our job: awakening the public to take notice.

We were quite surprised by how few exhibits have been held in the US (more have been held in London!). The largest one we could find since our entry into this war had less than half as many artists participating. We’re talking less than 25 events with more than 10 participating artists, and even less lasting more than a few days.

Our call for art went out about ten days before the event began. By the opening, over 80 artists from the island brought in their art. Today, we have over 100 artists and over 200 pieces of art on display. But that’s not all. Over 600 children across the state of Hawaii made prayer flags in honor of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama’s visit to Paia to dedicate a prayer shrine. They are on display also.

Through community support, the exhibit has been showing in a 4,000 sq. ft. gallery, with a three-week running time. It is our hope to secure more such spaces to extend the exhibit. And there’s a very good reason for that.

This exhibit space has become a center for activism, and it’s not limited to war and peace.

The three-week event has included a steady stream of video, educational, and public participation programs, along with music and stage plays. Included have been update meetings for the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement, gathering local business people to discuss establishing “plastic-free” towns, a benefit for Autism awareness and even a spoken word “Slam!” which was the biggest in Maui’s history.

It’s gotta start somewhere, and Maui is the ideal place.

It’s only a little island about 1/2 the size of Long Island in the most remote part of the world. It has less than 140,000 people living on it, and many of those are not full-time residents. Some art guides identify Maui as the third largest art market in the world, but suffice it to say it is well-known as the “Art Capital of the Pacific.” That’s a double-entendre that sticks!

The opening night alone drew more than 500 people to it and this to a town with a population of only 6,500! Since opening night, the gallery has had a steady stream of visitors. This has not been a tourist-oriented event. Its largest advertising has been through word-of-mouth.

It’s not a selling event, though some of the art pieces have sold. For the most part, these are works of art created as deeply personal statements of individuals about their relationship with this war, that war, those wars and/or the longing for and realization of peace. Most media are represented and there are many clear examples of artistic mastery.

Many people of all stripes have become deeply affected by the art, and then, come back to participate in a program. Many dialogues have begun and actions initiated as a result of gatherings here. Barack Obama’s Sister, Maya, was the first representative of a major political campaign to visit us. Many veterans of war have been here, and regardless of their political positions have found sources of healing.

Maui is not really known as a center of political activism here in Hawaii. It does, however, host a great variety of what could be called “cultural creatives.” The job of the artist is to reflect the world you’re in, and who you are, back to you. That’s what’s happening here.

Actually, that's just what's starting here!

What once was a vague notion is now becoming a reality that has the potential to grow exponentially in its impact. Already we have been offered a venue to hold another such exhibit on the Mainland! A gallery in California has embraced the concept of taking a number of our pieces and inviting local artists there to contribute their anti-war works for a show that will then move on to another venue heading East, and to another and another until there’s a massive, collective anti-war exhibit in Washington, D.C.!

And here we are, now, the beginning of a movement!

What’s showing up at this exhibition, individually, may make you wince, give you pause, provoke tears or anger you. But there are also many, many messages and expressions of peace. The overall effect, strangely enough, is hope. Not because the art is coordinated to say that, but because the art provides a container where people can be stimulated to take action to make a better world – for all of us.

And we offer what we've learned to act as a model for other communities to follow.

If you have any influence at all, connect with us to hear the voices and see the visions of people working for the good. You will find something to relate to and to work with. If you know anyone of influence, help them get in touch with us so they can spread the word, for the good of all~!