“Do you remember the first time you experienced or saw an image of a work of art that blew your mind—that transformative moment that changed everything? For me, one of these moments happened while sitting around our dining room table with my dear friend Rebecca Ramos.
Rebecca had recently returned from Alaska where she visited family and participated in the welcoming of beloved voyaging canoe, Hōkūleʻa, during the Moananuiākea voyage in 2023. While in Juneau, Rebecca visited the Alaska State Museum. It was at my very dining table, where I caught my first glimpse of Sonya Kelliher-Combs’ work—on the little screen of a cell phone—Rebecca excitedly scrolled through images and video of Sonya’s work featured in her solo exhibition and installations featuring treasures from the Museum’s permanent collection. Like Rebecca, I geeked out hard. I read the labels Rebecca had photographed and began to understand the stories of beauty, pain and strength Sonya amplified through her installations. Captivated by her powerful and haunting work, I was fully entranced.
Rebecca’s photos were from the exhibition trilogy, Visceral: Verity, Legacy, Identity – Alaska Native Gut Knowledge and Perseverance, a series of three interrelated exhibitions exploring contemporary and historical Alaska Native issues, spotlighting gut as a conduit for Indigenous voices. Co-curated by Sonya Kelliher-Combs and gut enthusiast and conservator, Dr. Ellen Carrlee, the exhibition’s installations were visually stunning and emotional, and created multiple access points for learning, reflection and healing.
Fast forward several months, we’re on a video call with Josh Tengan, Associate Director of the Hawaiʻi Triennial. He casually mentions that Sonya is interested in leading a series of workshops at the Donkey Mill to create an installation titled Portable Secrets for the Aloha Nō exhibition. I could hardly believe it—Sonya Kelliher-Combs, the artist whose work had left such a lasting impression, was coming to the Mill.
Soon enough, the Mill’s team connected with Sonya on Zoom, and plans for her residency began to take shape. She would lead five Portable Secrets workshops, interact with the community, participate in the opening reception, give an artist talk and more. It was all really happening.
In leading five Portable Secrets workshops, Sonya taught over 75 community members, ranging in age from 6 to 77, how to make small beaded pouches from either a felted wool fabric or salmon rawhide she had prepared in Alaska. Without fail, during each workshop, once the stitching pattern and beading sequence were covered, amidst the talking and laughing, the Mill’s main space would get quiet as participants found their groove and entered varying stages of a flow state. Once artists finished their “portable secret,” they were invited to write down any “secrets” or private thoughts or words on small pieces of paper that they could then place in their pouch for safekeeping.
This acknowledgement of “secrets” and recognition that we have parts of ourselves that can be held safe within us without needing to be shared with the world felt affirming. In these spaces we hold hidden, unspoken, repressed, and things kept unknown, we can also safeguard and protect that which we cherish and hold sacred. Sonya’s invitation to create an amulet which can hold our private thoughts and objects in the presence of others felt important and empowering.
The past three weeks at the Mill have really felt so full—full of gratitude—for the opportunity to bring world-class artists here to connect with community through our participation in the Hawaiʻi Triennial—for artists like Sonya who create opportunities for us to slow down, tap into our own kūpuna wisdom and ancestral strength, and more fully engage with this human experience—for our communities here in Kona who are open to this process of exploration and discovery through the arts.
Back at my dining table two short weeks ago—the same table where Rebecca first showed me images of Sonya’s work in the Visceral exhibition years ago—I sat with Sonya and Ellen Carrllee (the conservator/gut enthusiast!), the two women who co-curated that same show. It was a moment I could have only dreamt about. As we spent the morning laughing, sharing stories and beading away on our individual projects, I felt tapped into something larger than me—something that connected me to the past, present and the future; I could not be more grateful for the way the stars align to help us find each other on this wild path of life.” -Mina Elison, Curator
View Sonya’s installation “Portable Secrets” at the Mill until June 28, 2025 and “Idiot Strings” on view at Capitol Modern in Honolulu. Stay tuned for the recording of her artist talk. Learn more about Sonya at sonyakellihercombs.com and in the recent Hawaiʻi Public Radio piece by Cassie Ordonio.