Sabado named Maui County's artist of year

Advertiser Staff

Philip Sabado was named Maui County's artist of the year on May 1 in conjunction with the county's Arts and Cultural Day celebration.

Sabado spent years quietly working behind the scenes in many arenas. As a teacher at Kaunoa Senior Center, he prepares art exhibits for his students at the county building, City Council chamber and at Kula San.

He works with students at Waihe'e School, where he has completed a library mural with students in the second and fifth grades. He has been a judge for many exhibits, from the county fair to numerous school functions.

As Maui's artist in residence, Sabado was selected by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to do the new signs at 'Iao State Park in 1999. The project took well over a year because for the artist, the mana'o (stories) had to be correct. For the next project, a mural commissioned for Moloka'i, his home island, encompassing 900 years of Moloka'i history, Sabado met with kupuna to assure he was correct in the depiction of Hawaiian history.

In 2001, Sabado created a 23-foot mural for the Kalia Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Sabado started life at a pineapple camp in the far west end of Moloka'i, Maunaloa camp, as part of a family of nine. His parents emigrated from Illocos Norte province in the Philippines in the early 1930s. The family traveled the Islands, going from plantation camp to camp.

He joined the Army, making extra money by drawing and painting portraits of the girlfriends and families of lonely GIs. After the military, he studied art.

Sabado, a Buddhist, says his philosophy of life stems from his Moloka'i roots and his Buddhist practice. "The first thing I learned as a Buddhist was 'Eisho Funi,' 'oneness and the environment,' " he said. "This one phrase encompasses my view of life and my art."