Volcanoes Park opens
sculpture competition
HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK >> Here's a challenge for an artistic, culturally inclined person: Create a sculpture, using only stone, wood and "culturally appropriate materials," that will reflect wahi kapu, the sacred places of Hawaii, especially Kilauea and Mauna Loa.
The reward: $38,000.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has put out a call for proposals for such a sculpture to be located outdoors at the park's Kilauea Visitor Center.
A word of warning about the wood: Because of the increasing rarity of koa, use of that wood will not be acceptable.
The sculpture should "give visitors a sense of why Mauna Loa and Kilauea have long been revered by native Hawaiians," the park said.
The work will be funded by the park, Volcano Art Institute, the Mountain Institute, Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Ford Foundation.
Sculptors should submit proposals to the park's long-standing advisory Kupuna Committee by July 17.
Artists submitting the three best proposals will each receive $1,000 to prepare designs by Oct. 13 for the final selection.
The project is open to Hawaii artists who feel qualified "by virtue of their whole life experience," the park said. "Anyone who feels so qualified may submit a proposal," the park said.
For more information, contact Joni Mae Makuakane-Jarrell at 985-6013.