Updated at 3:37 p.m., Wednesday, January 9, 2008
No 'Artists of Hawaii' in 2008; exhibition now biennial
Advertiser Staff
The Honolulu Academy of Arts has reformatted its regional juried exhibition, Artists of Hawaii, as a biennial. There will be no Artists of Hawaii exhibition in 2008.The 58th installment is scheduled to open in May 2009 and run through early July 2009.
The new format is designed to give Hawaii-based artists a longer period of time to produce new work, and will give second-round candidates an opportunity to interact directly with the guest curator/juror through studio visits, according to the museum.
The intention is that Artists of Hawaii will have increased prominence by allowing artists time to plan and realize ambitious work that will be seen for the first time at the exhibition.
In a statement, Michael Rooks, curator of European and American art, said, "In the past, a great deal of the work chosen for Artists of Hawaii had already been seen at other venues in Hawaii. At this point then, the exhibition becomes more of a marketing opportunity than a platform for the exchange of ideas. We hope that this new format will provide artists an occasion to develop new work and, in the process, enhance the distinction that Artists of Hawai'i has bestowed on its participants in the past."
Like last year's exhibition, Artists of Hawaii 2009 will be juried online for the first round. In addition, the juror will conduct individual studio visits with artists for a second round. Artists will be notified of final selections after the second-round has been completed. More information will be posted on the academy's Web site, http://www.honoluluacademy.org, in summer 2008.
