Patricia H. Masumoto, a Maui artist whose Gallerie Ha in Wailuku became a center for poetry slams for youths, died at her home in Pukalani on Jan. 22, her family said. She was 76.

Born on Maui, Masumoto was an accomplished painter whose works were purchased by private collectors and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

The daughter of Lahaina District Magistrate George K. Hasegawa, Masumoto was a supporter of the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr., protesting as a college exchange student at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., in the early 1960s.

She served as a guest speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King Peace Poetry Awards on the Valley Isle in 2012, sharing her civil rights experiences.

“Pat’s support of poetry and young poets on Maui has been enormous and will never be forgotten,” said Melinda Gohn, a founder of the annual statewide poetry event.

Gohn said Masumoto, as an artist, often tapped into her happy childhood to create her artistic works, and for several years before its closing, she opened her gallery to help create a community that encouraged and recognized area painters and poets.

Slam poet Kealoha Wong said Masumoto was free and honest in her approach to life and art as well as devoted to her art and young people.

Masumoto received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts at Oberlin College in Ohio, her family said. According to the Maui News, Masumoto studied drawing and painting in Rome, where she received an art prize for an abstract painting while studying under Sandro Trotti at the Accademia di Belle Arti.

The Maui County Council passed a resolution in 2002 recognizing Masumoto during Women’s History Month as a “Maui Woman Making a Difference,” citing how she had received a Volunteer of the Year Award from Gov. George Ariyoshi for her work in creating a space at Oahu prison where families could gather.

In 2008, she was part of a trio of performing artists representing Maui at the National Poetry Slam in Madison, Wis.

Her play, “My Mama Monologues,” opened on Maui and was independently produced on Kauai and in Colorado and Canada.

She is survived by her son James and his wife JoAnn, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at the Iao Theatre in Wailuku, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 26.