Japan art treasures coming
By Wanda A. Adams
Assistant Features Editor
The Honolulu Academy of Arts has signed an agreement with Japan's Reihokan Museum at Mount Koya for the first-ever exhibit of national treasures from Mount Koya to travel outside of Japan, and only the second exhibition of its type organized exclusively from works at the Riehokan.
"Esoteric Buddhist art has never been presented on this scale in America before," said Asian art curator Julia White of the exhibit, "Sacred Treasures of Mount Koya: The Art of Japanese Shingon Buddhism," which will be mounted at the academy Sept. 1-Nov. 10. ... In other academy news, a four-semester docent-training course begins in the fall, and interviews of applicants will be conducted over the summer. The docent commitment requires availability during some weekday daytime hours. Call Betsy Robb: 532-3666.
The National Endowment for the Arts has announced its second round of grants in 2002, with Hawai'i organizations receiving six for a total of $642,000. Recipients: Hawai'i Literary Arts Council, to support literary readings at state prisons; Honolulu Dance Theatre, for creation of "Pele and the Legends of Hawai'i"; Kalihi-Palama Culture & Arts Society, for training classes in traditional art forms; Maui Community Arts & Cultural Center, to support "Ho'ike: Arts for All"; Moanalua Gardens Foundation, for the Prince Lot Hula Festival; and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, for various activities.
The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation Visual Awards for the purchase of works by emerging local artists have been granted to six small museums in California and Hawai'i, including the Honolulu Academy of Arts and The Contemporary Museum.
Lena Ching, a fiber artist and graduate student in the University of Hawai'i fiber art program, is the recipient of the 2002 Elsa Takesue Memorial Scholarship awarded by the Fiber Hui of Hawaii, based in Kailua-Kona. Ching, who hopes to be a teacher, receives $500 to aid her in a trip to a conference of indigenous artists in New Zealand.
