The public is invited to engage with a new collection of animated film shorts that celebrate Lāhainā history, culture and sense of place on March 27, as Maui Public Art Corps will present the Hui Mo’olelo: Lāhainā Film Festival, co-hosted by the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Outreach College and Waiwai Collective from 6:30-8:30 p.m. free in Mōʻiliʻili.

Maui Public Art Corps is working in collaboration with the County of Maui, Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House/Maui Historical Society, and Lāhainā Restoration Foundation.

The films are the result of a summer call to artists and stem from the Hui Mo’olelo program, which seeks to cultivate stories celebrating the history, culture and sense of place of unique sites throughout Maui County.

Through previous cohort participants Kalapana Kollars of the Lāhainā Restoration Foundation and Anuhea Yagi, Student of Hawaiian Life Ways, a cohort of storytellers were paired with intergenerational partners to audio-record memories rooted in Lāhainā.

The recordings formed the basis of a call for artist proposals to translate a story as a work of public art. More than 100 public artworks have been created to date, including murals, mele, dance, sculpture, animation, lightwork and more.

Upon selection by a community panel, artists Sasha Hercik of Kihei, Richard O’Connor of Brooklyn, New York, and a team of University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, School of Cinematic Arts students — Jenna Lee, Syril Pecson, Zach Quemado, and Abby Worthley — entered a period of project development to meet the storytellers, learn more about the context of their stories and infuse the evolving design with a sense of place distinct to each recording.

Working closely with Hui Mo’olelo partners since September, the artists’ animated film shorts will be presented in alignment with recorded talk-story excerpts about Lahaina.

Each artist or artist team was required to workshop their proposals with community members. In February, Maui Public Art Corps was welcomed into the Movement Improvisation class taught by Pei-Ling Kao, an associate professor of dance at UH Mānoa, to collaborate on a gesture drawing class with live performers.

The experience garnered the attention of UH Outreach College Chair of community programs, SheenRu Yong, who led the planning and development of the very first Hui Mo’olelo Film Festival on the island of Oahu.

“When I heard about how this project was bringing different artistic mediums, departments, generations and island communities together to celebrate the stories of Lāhainā, I felt this was a vision and creative process that had to be shared widely. When Waiwai Collective generously offered to host the Festival, we knew it was meant to be,” she said.

“Bringing our Hui Mo’olelo Film Festival to Oʻahu for the first time marks a significant step in expanding our commitment to preserving Hawaiʻi’s histories through public art,” added Kelly White, manager of Maui County’s Public Art Program and chair of Maui Public Art Corps. “Since 2018 we have cultivated this program within Maui County, and now, as we showcase films devoted to Lahaina, we also look ahead to ensuring that stories from kūpuna across the islands continue to guide us in shaping the future of public art.”

The Hui Mo’olelo: Lāhainā Film Festival will be emceed by Sissy Lake-Farm of Hale Hōʻikeʻike, beginning at 6:30 p.m. March 27.

Free to the public, audience members will experience the premiere of five animated films created from Lahaina talk-story excerpts, each between three and 15 minutes in length, as well as a surprise performance and a Q&A with participants.

To view the artwork research, listen to the story recordings, and more, visit mauipublicart.org/filmfest, which links to all individual project pages.

Additionally, there is currently an open call for artist proposals to transform these Lāhainā stories into additional works of public art. Projects fall into one of five categories: pop-up performances, murals, utility box projects, recycling bin beautification, and open call. The deadline is March 31. Details are available at mauipublicart.org/apply.