Fostering Care and Connection: The Central Themes of the 2025 Hawaiʻi Triennial
The 2025 Hawai‘i Triennial “ALOHA NŌ”: Art, Place, and the Power of Healing Narratives
From February through spring 2025, the Hawaiian archipelago transformed into a living gallery with the Hawai‘i Triennial 2025, titled ALOHA NŌ. Spanning multiple islands and 14 venues, this widely anticipated event not only showcased contemporary art from across the Pacific and beyond but rooted each piece deeply in place-based cultural and historical contexts. At the heart of this year’s triennial was a reckoning with colonization, environment, and identity—and a call to honor Hawai‘i’s indigenous knowledge systems amid global decolonization movements.
Reclaiming Aloha Through Language and Art
The curatorial theme ALOHA NŌ exemplifies the exhibition’s commitment to authenticity and place. Hawaiian language intensifiers are more than grammatical nuances—they convey cultural precision. By adding “nō” to the familiar yet commercialized term “aloha,” curators Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Binna Choi, and Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu re-infused it with its original power—emphasizing active love, respect, and communal responsibility. The layered meanings of English homonyms “no” and “know” added complexity: a refusal of erasure and a call to learn.
This linguistic framing resonated in works like Brandy Nālani McDougall’s “Aloha Ka‘apuni / Revolutionary Aloha.” Her concrete poetry installations encircled Lē‘ahi (Diamond Head), inviting viewers to explore traditional Hawaiian meanings of the word ka‘apuni: to rotate, circle, tour, or revolutionize. Each panel embedded poetry, imagery, and culture into public parks—reclaiming the land with layered stories in both past and present tenses.
A Sculpture of Resistance and Healing: ‘Umeke Lā‘au
Among the standout works was Meleanna Aluli Meyer’s “‘Umeke Lā‘au: Culture Medicine,” a monumental sculpture in Honolulu’s city hall. Modeled after the calabash bowl, an object of communal sharing and value, the installation is expansive and participatory. Visitors can step inside and hear the solemn recitation of 38,000 names from the 1897 Kū‘ē Petitions—signatures gathered to oppose Hawai‘i’s annexation by the United States.
But Meyer’s work is not only a cry of protest—it is also a vessel for reconciliation. The traditional symbol of pewa—a fishtail-shaped patch used to mend cracks in wooden bowls—appears as both physical design element and metaphor for cultural restoration. The sculpture has hosted Mongolian shamans, police officials, and descendants of petition signers, offering sacred space for reflection and collective healing in a building steeped in institutional authority.
Collaboration Rooted in Cultural Work
This triennial distinguished itself from other international exhibitions not through grand spectacle but through relational process and respect for land and community. The curatorial team began their collaboration by cultivating kalo (taro) together at Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, a sustainable agroecology nonprofit. Their connection to Hawaiian values extended into their curatorial practices, shaped significantly by Hawaiian cultural scholar Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer, known for her work in Indigenous epistemology and relational knowledge.
The thematic thread of the pewa—used as a recurring visual by design firm Welcome Stranger—unified the triennial’s identity. Appearing even in the macron over the “o” in the logo “ALOHA NŌ,” the stitch symbolized the curatorial intention: to begin repairs without disguising the rupture, to hold space for history, and to celebrate cultural endurance.
Honoring Place: East Hawai‘i Cultural Center
The East Hawai‘i Cultural Center in Hilo—on an island shaped by lava and bordered by the Pacific—provided a powerful setting for several highlights of the triennial. Lieko Shiga’s Rasen Kaigan (Spiral Shore), a photographic journey through Japan’s tsunami-stricken coastline, captured both devastation and spiritual resilience. Similarly, Jane Jin Kaisen’s single-channel video “Halmang,” recorded on South Korea’s Jeju Island, honored the ancestral traditions of female deep-sea divers and their shamanistic links to elemental change.
Rocky KaʻiouliokahihikoloʻEhu Jensen’s work “Ipu Naho‘okelewa‘a” reflected the navigational traditions of Polynesia with a sculpted compass, integrating the symbolic pewa as a strengthening feature in one of its holding figures. Each piece, while deeply personal, also served as a meditation on survivance—the dynamic Indigenous presence resisting erasure.
Ephemeral Interventions with Lasting Messages
Another cultural nexus was Leeward Community College’s Hō‘ikeākea Gallery near Puʻulo