State gets behind
wheel to market
island cultureAn outgrowth of the
Hawaii Film Office will embrace
fine arts and performance arts
A new state office has begun work to raise the profile of Hawaiian culture -- from aloha shirts to Hawaiian music -- and boost the state economy in the process.
The Arts, Film and Entertainment Division will include the operations overseen by the state Film Office, but broadens efforts to include fine arts, performance arts, design and all aspects of entertainment. With the announcement this week that former Kauai film commissioner Judy Drosd will head the office, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism operation is now underway.
"There's something happening out there," Ted Liu, DBEDT's director, said of interest in Hawaiian culture. "We thought if it's happening without us providing any leadership, just think of what we can do if we really look at culture, arts, entertainment from an economic driver viewpoint."
The creation of the new arts division is part of the department's overall restructuring under the Lingle administration. Employees in six previous divisions have been reshuffled into seven newly-named offices.
Five workers who were involved in the department's product trade branch, which handled the "Made in Hawaii" and "Buy Hawaiian" campaigns, were transferred to the Arts, Film and Entertainment Division. And money previously earmarked for certain marketing and economic development efforts is being rerouted to fund Drosd's $65,000-a-year salary and the office's operations.
The five staffers have been on the job for a few months, generating ideas and meeting with members of the music industry.
For now, Drosd -- who started work last week -- is focusing on developing her office's specific long-term plan. Overall, though, she says it's simple.
"Hawaii is really rich in creative assets and we think that government can play a really strategic role in planning, creating opportunities, clearing away obstacles for success," Drosd said. We can "help to really enliven and make Hawaii recognized as an international center for arts and entertainment and film."
Drosd spent 10 years as Kauai's film commissioner and saw the county's annual production revenues increase from $4.5 million to $11.4 million. She has also worked for HBO, supervising production of films, TV series, documentaries, live specials and sports programs.