Public Commissions

A Hui Hou

National Scrollathon: Hawaii

2025

Commissioned by: Downtown Art Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Medium: Fiber, rubber bands, pins, ink, glue, wood, paint
Dimensions: 60 × 36 × 1 in. (Collaborative Masterwork); Signature Plate, each 8 ½ × 11 in.
Photograph: Courtesy of the artists
Created in: Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Artists’ Registration Numbers:
Collaborative Masterworks: 2024.041.001–2024.041.016
Mini Portrait Mural: 2024.043.001
Signature Sheet: 2024.042.001
Portrait Mural: 2025.026.001
Exhibition History: National Scrollathon: Hawai‘i, Downtown Art Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, 2024. Coordinated by Allison Wong, Lauren Okano, and Sandra Pohl

More than a decade later, when we began planning the National Scrollathon, we reached out to Allison and Lauren to help us reengage with the community that first embraced the project’s vision. Allison organized the funding and institutional partnership through the Downtown Art Center, and Lauren helped assemble a constellation of schools and community groups to participate. The result was A hui hou—a reconnection not just with Hawai‘i, but with the very people who helped define the beginnings of Scrollathon itself.

The completed scrolls were joined to form A hui hou, a Collaborative Masterwork unveiled at the Downtown Art Center alongside a Portrait Mural and Signature Plate. The work captures both the spirit of parting and the promise of reunion—a gesture of continuity between communities across the Pacific and the broader nation.

Commission Overview
Commissioned by the Downtown Art Center, A Hui Hou—meaning “see you soon” or “until we meet again”—represents Hawai‘i’s contribution to America’s Cultural Project and the national mission of Uniting America. On November 12, 2024, 126 participants from across the islands gathered in Honolulu to create scrolls expressing their personal stories, each reflecting the values of connection, gratitude, and aloha.

This project also marked a powerful homecoming. Our first solo museum exhibition took place in Hawai‘i in 2011 at The Contemporary Museum, where we met Allison Wong, then the museum’s director, and Lauren Okano, who coordinated one of our earliest community partnerships with Hanahau‘oli School. That exhibition was the first time we ever conducted a Scrollathon within a museum setting, and it profoundly shaped our path forward.

Artistic Approach
Each participant’s scroll embodies an individual rhythm, inspired by Hawai‘i’s natural beauty and sense of interconnection. The composition layers deep oceanic blues, sandy neutrals, and soft coral tones, evoking both sea and land. The artwork’s form and title echo the Hawaiian spirit of aloha—a balance between presence and remembrance, honoring those who came together and those yet to be met again.

Following the Scrollathon process, participants selected two fabric trimmings from a curated palette, rolled them tightly around wooden dowels, and marked their scrolls with personal symbols or signatures. These gestures, simple yet profound, created a collective portrait of Hawai‘i’s creativity and community spirit.

Participant Reflections
One participant titled their scroll Constellation, writing:

“I like to look at the stars… stars and constellations helped the Hawaiians get from place to place.”

Their Hope for America was safe:
“I want everyone to go anywhere without a worry and feel they can do anything in a safe way.”

These reflections connect Hawai‘i’s ancestral practice of wayfinding with a modern vision of collective safety and belonging. Together, they capture the essence of A hui hou—a community looking to the stars for guidance, connection, and hope for reunion.

In Hawaiian culture, A hui hou is not goodbye, but a promise: that paths will cross again.

Engagement and Impact
The Scrollathon in Honolulu united students, educators, and community members from across O‘ahu and beyond through partnerships with Farrington High School, Hanahau‘oli School, and Island Pacific Academy. Over the course of the day, the studio transformed into a circle of learning and laughter—an atmosphere rooted in the Hawaiian values of kākou (togetherness) and lokahi (unity).

Context and Legacy
A hui hou represents both a continuation and a return—a reconnection with the community where Scrollathon’s museum journey first began. From the seeds planted in 2011 at The Contemporary Museum to the national arc of America’s Cultural Project, this work embodies a lineage of shared making and enduring friendship.

As part of the National Scrollathon, A hui hou joins a landmark series of Collaborative Masterworks created across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the five U.S. territories. Together, these works will culminate in 2026 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States through a shared vision of unity, creativity, and belonging.

Special Thanks
Sandra Pohl and the team at the Downtown Art Center; Allison Wong; Lauren Okano; Hazel Ito; and Steve Ross

Acknowledgments
The Scrollathon team; National Scrollathon Interns and Fellows; Timothy Lewis and Babette Husson; Charles and Barbara Ladd; Mari and Gary Teeter; Claude and Gina Falcone Skelton; and the team at Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Sponsors
Made possible through the generous support of Lia Woo, Hanahau‘oli School, Diane Chen KW, Judy Pyle and Wayne Pitluck, Sharon Twigg-Smith, Gerald Teramae, Island Pacific Academy, Lisa-Joy Andres, and the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA)

Community Partners
Downtown Art Center Community; Farrington High School; Hanahau‘oli School (4th and 5th Grade); Island Pacific Academy