The ARTS at Marks Garage continues to provide one of the venues for the annual MAMo, or Maoli Arts Month, now in its sixth year, with "Kuakino: The Changer & the Changed."

The exhibit’s name refers to the god Ku and the word "akino," meaning body or form, for a theme that explores "transformative ability and process," says Noelle Kahanu of Bishop Museum, one of the MAMo sponsors.

"The title is about the transformative process as subject matter, but it also describes what happens for artists when they’re taking materials and creating something tangible to present to audiences," she says. "The viewer is part of that transformative process as well when they encounter the art. It’s cyclical."

Works include David Kalama’s numerous Ku drawings, generated when he spent 54 days at Bishop Museum sketching three Ku statues, and a clay sculpture of a creature that is half child, half shark that illustrates literal transformation. Acrylics, tapestries, wood carvings and mixed media round out the show.

In all, 13 artists were selected for the exhibit by Kahanu, Jerry Vasconcellos and Bob Freitas.

Kahanu declines to call the selection process jurying.

"Jurying implies looking at art and making judgments," she says. "For us it’s about the artists. We select artists and they bring in their work."

MAMo, which spotlights the native Hawaiian arts community, is also sponsored by the PA‘I Foundation.

Kahanu calls Marks Garage, a community project of Hawaii Arts Alliance, an invaluable supporter of MAMo.

"It’s an important relationship to have," she says. "Once a year, Marks welcomes a show that’s 100 percent Hawaiian, which allows us to put forth art of our indigenous host community. That’s not an opportunity we have very often. The annual show at Marks is an anchor for MAMo."

For more on MAMo, visit www.maoliartsmonth.org.