Information about Program A (Ages 6-8) can be found here.
Schedule: Tuesday - Friday, March 19 - 22 from 9:00am - 3:00pm
About the 2024 Spring Art Experiences: Our Spring Art Experience program for ages 6-8 and 9-12 will be focused on kīpuka. A kīpuka is a kind of oasis, an area of land that is surrounded by younger lava flows. Literally translated, the Hawaiian word signifies a variation, or change of form. Teaching artists Angaea Cuna and Tomoko Nakazato will explore these ideas from various perspectives inviting culture, science, and storytelling to inform creative works in mixed media, game design and clay.
Course Description: Who am I, and who are you, they, and we? The essential question of identity is a curious and relevant one, most pronounced in our life on an island. With the island’s rich history and diverse nature, stories each of us hold within are like seeds, and telling and sharing of our stories are the nutrients that spark growth and instigate hope for the future, where the diversity, sustainability and connectedness is vital to our survival.
In this 4-day Spring Art Experience, young artists will huddle, share and create visual art themed around storytelling. We will feel our way through the landscape of our creativity through textures, colors, and shapes in clay and mixed media. We will find inspiration in the island's natural environment and moʻolelo. We will also investigate various styles of storytelling art around the world such as anime, board games, and murals. As we engage personally and collectively in expressing who we are through playful creative activities, our moʻolelo -words and stories- will flow to form our own kīpuka. We will become an island ourselves where exploration and collaboration spark the creativity within us to transform, empower and thrive.
About the Artist
Tomoko Nakazato creates artwork that tells stories and encapsulates the emotional experiences of life lived in the 21st century, highlighting implosive predicaments experienced amongst humans and animals alike on this planet. Nakazato grew up in Tokyo, Japan while frequently visiting Hawai’i, which provided an opportunity for her to be exposed to the diversity of cultures. She moved to San Francisco, California in 1996, and resides between Kealakekua and Tokyo presently. With an MFA from San Francisco State University, Nakazato has exhibited her artwork nationwide at John Natsoulas Gallery, SOFA Chicago, SFMOMA artist Gallery, Headlands Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, Hawaii Craftsman, NCECA and numerous other locations. Nakazato has been teaching and delivering enriching art and cultural programs for all ages and backgrounds in diverse community settings over the last 20 years, such as Merritt College in Oakland, Holualoa Foundation For arts and Culture, Hawaii,The Randall Museum, Jewish Community Center, Richmond Art Center, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, Studio One Oakland, and many other private studios. Her life doesn’t happen without noodles, cats, and chocolate biscuits.
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