The WOW Factor

The impact of POW! WOW! Hawaii lingers all over Kakaako in bursts of color against an otherwise nondescript landscape. Murals painted in 2011 still endure the elements alongside pieces from last year’s event.

Yet art is more than its finished product. Beautiful as those murals are, what’s sometimes more interesting is how they got there. And as POW! WOW! Hawaii kicks off for the fifth time Feb. 7-14, offering others a window into the process remains as important than ever.

Still, trying to define the festival is no easy task.

“That question becomes harder and harder to answer over the years because it just keeps changing and growing,” muses founder Jasper Wong. “Primarily, we want to beautify neighborhoods and gather people together and educate through art.”

POW! WOW! Hawaii does this by assembling more than 70 international and local artists and musicians to convene for a week in Kakaako. People teach, learn and share in the communal artistic experience through mural painting, panel discussions, lectures, art shows and more (see sidebar for our POW! WOW! to-do list).

“It’s a unique event where the neighborhood essentially is transformed into an expansive outdoor gallery, with artists working on their murals on almost every block,” describes Roxanne Ortiz of Wooden Wave, one of the participating muralists.

“In most art shows, you only get to see the finished pieces, but in this event, the community is able to see the art being painted from start to finished,” she adds.

EXPANSION AWAITS

Wong originally founded POW! WOW! in Hong Kong in 2010 as a two-day event stocked with art shows, a gallery opening and live performances.

He brought that format back to his home state in 2011, and things just blossomed. The umbrella of POW! WOW! Hawaii now includes the POW! WOW! School of Music and School of Art, and shared artist space Lana Lane Studios.

“It has definitely scaled up as more people within the community and industry and people in general come from all over the map to be part of it,” Wong says.

This year, in addition to local and Mainland participants, artists have poured in from as far as Australia, Taiwan and Puerto Rico.

“POW! WOW! Hawaii is able to showcase talent from Hawaii, as well as worldwide, which is very rare in Hawaii — to be able to be exposed to so many forms of art and international artists,” says Gotaro Oshitari, a music artist and instructor with POW! WOW! School of Music.

Not only are artists coming to Hawaii — soon, POW! WOW! will be going to them. Four more festivals are on tap for this year, in Austin, Texas; Long Beach, Calif.; Taiwan and Israel. Plans also are underway to start POW! WOW! events in Singapore, Tokyo, Thailand, Guam, New Zealand, Washington, D.C., and Germany, among other places.

“There’ll be projects all over the map, all modeled after what we’ve been doing in Hawaii,” Wong explains.

OPEN DOORS

As monolithic as POW! WOW! is becoming, some things remain the same.

The event still is centered in Kakaako (Wong likes to keep events within “walking distance, so you can see what each artist is doing” and still enjoy the neighborhood). And all events are free and open to the public, as it’s always been.

“The beauty of POW! WOW! lies in its accessibility,” says Ortiz.

Oshitari agrees with that sentiment.

“Although there might be so many small and little events that go on in Hawaii … there’s not really any internationally renowned festivals that go on here that’s not catered to the higher incomes.

“POW! WOW! Hawaii is really trying to integrate with the community, the art community, any kind of creative energies they are able to showcase,” Oshitari continues. “I really do feel like (POW! WOW!) is the only real arts and music festival that is a week long and features artists from all over the world (here in Hawaii).”

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit powwowhawaii.com

POW! WOW! TO-DO LIST

There’s something to do just about every day during POW! WOW! Hawaii. So we picked three can’t-miss events to help you plan.

Feb. 7

The Lei-Over: Official POW! WOW! Hawaii Opening Party

Buho Cocina y Cantina
2250 Kalakaua Ave. 6 p.m.

Red Bull Music Academy and POW! WOW! kick things off with a series of mystery guest performers, hosted by Haycock and Strong.

Feb. 9

Mural Painting Kakaako

Check powwowhawaii.com for mural map

Watch the artists work on this year’s murals, or tour some older masterpieces.

Feb. 14

Finale Block Party

Cooke Street 6-11 p.m.

Honolulu Night Market and POW! WOW! close out the week with lots of food, art and live music, including performances from the students of POW! WOW! School of Music, among many others.

PHOTOS BY BRANDON SHIGETA
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March 31, 2017 Issue

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