Posted on: Sunday, January 30, 2005
Bike racks getting artsy
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
The bike-shaped bike racks that are affixed to sidewalks across the city are about to get a colorful remake as part of an effort to support the arts and high-school arts programs.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser to design and paint the 300 city bike racks with colorful, original designs. Businesses and nonprofit organizations can support the project by making a $1,000 tax-deductible contribution for every rack they want to sponsor.
In return, businesses will have the chance to pick out a customized art design for a rack of their choice and have a plaque with the business's name placed on it for the duration of the project, which runs from March through June.
The student teams will each receive a $250 certificate for art supplies. The rest of the money will be used for operations at the Hawai'i Artplace, an arts-focused, creative industries vocational center in the former Waimano Home in Pearl City.
To sponsor the painting of a bike rack, call the University of Hawai'i College of Education at 781-7579 or e-mail paikahale@aol.com. For information, visit the Web site at www.vsarts.hawaii.edu. Tabuyo said she is happy with the end result because it looks like art from Africa or Australia. "My first thought was of circles like a bike, but we made some mistakes, the paint dripped, so we used that too," she said.
A 30-second public service announcement was created while the students painted the black tubular racks. It is being aired on local TV stations to promote the project, which is a partnership between public, private and charter schools, the University of Hawai'i College of Education and VSA arts of Hawai'i-Pacific.
Meleanna Meyer, an arts educator, said the project is a creative learning experience for the students.
"This is a chance to create a message that a lot of people will see," Meyer said. "Giving kids a canvas or a bike rack gives them the opportunity to constructively use their talents and abilities as opposed to tagging or graffiti — it builds civil pride."
Kathy Reimers, board president of VSA arts of Hawai'i-Pacific, said having their artwork seen in public can really give a boost to students and build teamwork and self-confidence, while raising money for a good cause.
"They will see how their work affects society," Reimers said. "They will be able to make a difference and have fun doing it."
Farrington student Julius Flores is thinking about a design that would include either stripes or stars. He said stars represent reaching out for a goal or shining brightly.
"This way, people can see how talented Farrington students are," Flores said.
Other students in the video include Tatiana Ramirez, Kristel Rabago, William Segundo, Cleo Mariano and Kevin Iwatani.
The decorated racks will be maintained each month by the students who painted them and will be repainted black at the end of the project.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431. Correction: Lianne Tabuyo's name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
The "Honolulu Hot Wheels" program will bring together teams of high-school students
Farrington High School students supervised by George Kon, right, painted the bike rack in front of the Honolulu Advertiser building as a prototype for the Honolulu Hot Wheels project. There are about 300 other bike racks in the city awaiting colorful designs and paint jobs.
The first bike rack was completed last week as a demonstration project in front of the Honolulu Advertiser building on Kapi'olani Boulevard. The work was done by seven students in the T-Shirt Theater group from Farrington High School. The design was created by sophomore Lianne Tabuyo, who likes to draw pictures using circles.
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