Five Hawaiian artists receive $20K fellowships

Five musicians and artists from Hawaii were among 20 selected for the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation National Artist Fellowships.

The Vancouver, Wash.-based foundation offers the fellowships to American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists. Each gets an unrestricted monetary award of $20,000 to explore, develop and experiment with original and existing projects. The fellows also work with their communities and share their culture in numerous ways.

Na Hoku Hanohano award winning musicians Jeff Peterson and Kalani Pe‘a were selected in the music category, while Honolulu fiber artist Marques Hanalei Marzan and traditional Native Hawaiian weaving practitioner Pohaku Kaho‘ohanohano of Makawao were selected in the traditional arts category and filmmaker Ciara Leina‘ala Lacy of Mililani was selected for artistic innovation.

“We are so pleased to honor so many Native artists in both the contemporary and traditional art forms this year,” said Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Director of Programs Francene Blythe in a press release. “This is the most that we have offered in awards. The increase exemplifies a farther reach for us into new states and tribes, as we are always trying to reach as many artists and tribes as we can for this National award. The honor is always ours to work with such a prestigious group of artists each time.”

The 20 awardees reside in 12 states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington.

Fellowships are made possible with additional support from the Ford Foundation, the Second Sister Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the philanthropy of arts patrons nationwide.