Art foundation’s new director seeks conciliation

Jonathan Johnson has stepped into the role of executive director of the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts just as the agency is trying to move past recent controversies over public art.

He replaces former head Eva Laird Smith, who resigned at the end of 2013 following a flap over the art agency’s misuse of a photo of revered kumu hula ‘Iolani Luahine on promotional materials and merchandise for Hawai‘i Fashion Month. In September, a mural commissioned by the foundation and installed at the Hawai‘i Convention Center drew the ire of some Native Hawaiians for its depiction of sacred iwi, or bones.

Johnson, 50, said he is confident he has the necessary relationships, training and experience to navigate the art world’s cultural and legal land mines. He describes his leadership style as collaborative.

"I’m into process and facilitating groups — bringing people together," he said. "I’m a servant leader.

"That group back there (the staff) is so talented and knows so much about their programs and they’re super passionate. Tapping them, our community, combined with the board, really, those are the three major pillars holding this place up."

Johnson has been with the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts since 1988 in such positions as proj­ect manager, conservation coordinator, registrar for the Art in Public Places program and director of the Hawai‘i State Art Museum, or HiSAM.

He is the seventh person to hold the lead post in the nearly 50-year history of the state arts agency, which receives federal grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

One of his priorities is restoring the foundation’s reputation through a reconciliation proc­ess with those involved in last year’s conflicts, as well as reaching out to the community.

With a budget of $6.57 million appropriated for fiscal year 2015, and another audit coming up, the foundation also needs to examine how to best run its existing programs within its means, he said.

Johnson, who oversees a staff of 22, said other priorities include arts education, reaching out to the neighbor islands and finding matching grants to expand such efforts as Artists in the Schools. The foundation plans to hire an information officer and has an opening for an experienced arts program specialist.

And Johnson hopes to draw on the expertise of his staff and community partners for guidance in supporting Native Hawaiian art.

Every controversy involving art has been a learning experience, he said, and one important lesson learned is to follow an established proc­ess when choosing commissioned works, since art can be very subjective.

"We have a set process that’s tried and true," he said. "You can’t defend art but you can defend the proc­ess. Someone is going to like your performance or not, or your visual art, whatever it is … . But as long as the proc­ess we go through is set, open and fair, then we can be in a comfortable place."

A graduate of Kalani High School, Johnson oversaw the artist-in-residence programs of several dozen Hawaii public schools and managed installation of artworks at the University of Hawaii’s Cancer Center, the Kapo­lei and Hilo Judiciary buildings, the Hawai‘i Convention Center and state airports. He was co-curator of the new Sculpture Garden at the HiSAM.

One of his most prominent roles was chairman of the Hawai‘i Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission, which conducted a very public process to design the Hawaii state quarter released in 2008.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in design with an emphasis on business administration from Cali­fornia Lutheran University.

A committee of foundation commissioners chose Johnson from a long list of local and out-of-state applicants, with the assistance of the state Department of Human Resources.