This rendering shows the Main Street Arts Project. Photo courtesy Maui Academy of Performing Arts

The Maui Academy of Performing Arts is almost to the finish line with a $15 million capital campaign to build a new performing arts campus in Wailuku, and the group is now turning to the community to raise $800,000.

According to MAPA, the money would help pay for theatrical equipment such as lighting, audiovisual equipment and seating as MAPA has already secured $14.2 million for the decadeslong effort dubbed the Main Street Arts Project.

“This project is about more than building a new home for MAPA; it’s about reimagining Wailuku through the arts,” MAPA Artistic Director David Johnston said in a statement. “The Main Street Arts Project is the next step in realizing our community’s vision for a vibrant, arts-driven Wailuku.”

Since 2016, MAPA has reportedly secured $14.2 million for the project with $10.4 million in federal funding, $1.1 million in state grants, $160,000 in grants from the Maui Office of Economic Development, and $2.54 million in contributions from foundations and individuals.

Construction is expected to be complete this summer, and MAPA says it needs to raise $800,000 more to purchase the theatrical equipment packages.

The Maui Academy of Performing Arts expects to finish construction on a new performing arts campus in Wailuku this summer. Currently, the group is raising money to pay for theatrical equipment. Photo courtesy Maui Academy of Performing Arts

As the centerpiece, the MAPA’s new campus will feature “The Naylor” theatre, named by philanthropist Susan Naylor through a $1 million donation.

The space is envisioned as a hub for locally produced events including theatre, dance, music, film and more, and the new venue offers a flexible seating system that can be rearranged to create a variety of different experiences for audiences.

In addition to the theatre, the Main Street Arts Project includes new dance studios, drama classrooms, rehearsal spaces and administrative offices across the street in the Promenade building. MAPA completed the interior renovation of the Promenade in 2021.

According to MAPA, the Main Street Arts Project will serve as the cornerstone for the Wailuku Arts District and attract more people to Wailuku, thus boosting local businesses and helping to diversify Maui’s economy by creating new jobs in the creative arts sector.

“It takes a lot of people behind-the-scenes to run a theatre,” said Carolyn Wright, MAPA’s Executive Director. “By creating new jobs for Maui residents, we’re strengthening the creative sector of the economy. And building a more diverse local economy is essential to developing the resilience our island needs to withstand future economic disruptions. People tend to think of the arts as just entertainment, but the arts are also an incredibly powerful economic tool.”

For more about the Main Street Arts Project, go to MauiAcademy.org or contact Wright at carolyn@mauiacademy.org or (808) 244-8760 x221.