HMA President’s Report - By Stacy Hoshino

Another HMA year is coming to a close and we will have our Annual Members’ Meeting on May 14. Four new board directors will be nominated and we urge our members to attend the meeting.

At that meeting, I will be stepping down, as required by HMA bylaws, after serving two years as president of the board of directors, and two years as board secretary. The organization embarked on ambitious plans during the course of the four years that I served on the board—bringing the Western Museums Association Annual Meeting to Honolulu, and serving as the organizational sponsor of the Institute of Museum and Library Service planning grant. These two endeavors could not have been accomplished without the support from so many individuals in our community and without institutional partnering. The whole experience as board director was inestimable and meaningful.

HMA’s strength is gathering its membership to be a true network in order to support each other individually and institutionally—HMA fosters a strong collegial bond statewide. Whether working in a historic home, museum, learning center, library, or archives, our membership is committed to the preservation of, and education about, our cultural heritage. I have witnessed first hand how dedicated everyone is. 

I am so proud to have served on HMA’s board of directors, and thank you for the opportunity!

HMA’s 2012 Annual Meeting at Honolulu Museum of Art

This year, HMA’s Annual Meeting for its members will be hosted by the Honolulu Museum of Art, formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts, on May 14, 2012 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

The first half, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm, will be the Annual Members Meeting, which will deal with an overview of HMA's business from the past year, and a vote on nominations of the new board directors. 

During the second half of the Annual Meeting, Stephan Jost, Executive Director, Honolulu Museum of Art will give a keynote, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.  

Stephan previously served as the director of the Shelburne Museum in Vermont and the Mills College Art Museum in Oakland, California. He came onboard in May 2011, and has led the historic and beloved institution into a brand new era with an ambitious and exciting plan that, most recently, changed its name to Honolulu Museum of Art, and merged with The Contemporary Museum. You will hear about his plans and learn about the strategies he employed to move ahead. Stephan’s presentation is sure to be enlightening for HMA members.

HMA Membership Time

Renew or become a member of HMA.  We value our members and encourage you to renew or become members. Professional development workshops and public presentations are offered as a benefit to our members.  Go to hawaiimuseums.org for more information about membership.

Nominations to the HMA Board of Directors

The following HMA members have been nominated to serve one term on the HMA Board of Directors. One term consists of two years.

Malia Baron

Registrar, Bishop Museum, O‘ahu

For over eleven years, Malia has worked at the Bishop Museum. As Registrar, she documents the museum’s collecting activity, incoming and outgoing loans, and deaccessions, as well as a variety of other collections activities. She holds an MA in Museums Studies from John F. Kennedy University, and a BA in Humanities from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Malia last served on HMA’s board as Director-at-Large from 2001-2003.

Heather Diamond

Heather Diamond

Curator, ‘Iolani Palace, O‘ahu

Heather is the curator at ‘Iolani Palace. She is the author of American Aloha: Cultural Tourism and the Negotiation of Tradition. Heather was a pre-doctoral fellow the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., and an intern at the Hawai‘i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts. She teaches online courses in museum studies, Hawai‘i multiculturalism, and folklore at UH Mänoa and West O‘ahu campuses. She earned a Ph.D. in American Studies at UH Mänoa, and holds a BFA and MA degrees from the University of Houston.

Christy Takamune

Christy Takamune

Gallery and Gift Shop Manager, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, O‘ahu

Christy is the gallery mastermind who builds, formulates and stylizes the exhibits at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. She ensures that the Community Gallery features at least four new exhibitions every year since coming to the organization in 2004. Christy has a bachelor’s in fine arts from University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa, an associates degree in science in fashion technology from the Honolulu Community College.

Christopher Wong

Marketing and Public Relations Specialist, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, O‘ahu

Christopher Wong

Christopher has been the Marketing and Public Relations Specialist at Mission House Museum since 2010. He manages the communication and media relations for the museum and as well as its IT department. Currently, he serves as State Commissioner for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps). Also, he is principal of the consulting company 'Onipa'a Solutions. 

HMA’s Exhibition Critique: Pearl Harbor’s WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument, March 23, 2012

From left to right: Karen Kosasa, Stacy Hoshino,
Eileen Martinez, Carole Hayashino,
Paul DePrey, Frank Middleton,
Scott Pawlowski, Barbara Moir, and Tom Klobe.

In order to broaden our understanding of exhibitions, the interpretational work that goes into creating installations, and most importantly how the stories and messages on the walls affect visitors, HMA’s Stacy Hoshino worked with Karen Kosasa, Director of the University of Hawai‘i, Mänoa’s Museums Studies Graduate Certificate Program on creating the format and invited three staff from Pearl Harbor’s WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument: Paul DePrey; Superintendent, Eileen Martinez, Chief of Education & Interpretation; and Scott Pawlowski, Chief of Cultural & Natural Resources, to represent their institution for a Critique Session In addition, three museum professionals were asked to critique the galleries: Tom Klobe, Professor Emeritus and Founding Director of the University of Hawai‘i Art Gallery; Carole Hayashino, President and Executive Director of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i; and Barbara Moir, HMA Board Director, and Education and Operations curator at Lyman Museum, Hilo.

Critique Session partipants enjoy the
Pearl Harbor’s WWII Valor in the Pacific
National Monument exhibition.

With discussants set, HMA hosted its first Exhibition Critique  of the Pearl Harbor’s WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument galleries on March 23, 2012, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Over 65 people, including those from HMA’s membership, the general public, and museum studies students gathered in the Pearl Harbor Memorial Theater. The critique session began with the three museum professionals each offering their critique, and the Pearl Harbor staff were given the opportunity to respond to their critiques. While some of the critiques were more questions, Carole Hayashino shared her experience and personal viewpoint of the two galleries "Road to War" and "Attack." Paul DePrey, Eileen Martinez, and Scott Pawlowski were some of the key staff who worked on the galleries from conception to realization, and they responded to the critiques given as well as they told the audience of their stories and examples of what a complex and challenging project it was.

Audience members were able to tour the galleries,
 and later assembled in the Pearl Harbor Memorial
 Theater for the critique by panelists.

Overall, HMA’s Exhibition Critique was insightful and offered our HMA membership an opportunity to study and observe the work of their peers and colleagues' and understand their processes of interpretation and storytelling. HMA plans on continuing these Exhibition Critiques statewide.

Blue Star Museums An Invitation

The National Endowment for the Arts continues to welcome interested museums in your district to participate in the third year of the Blue Star Museums program. A collaboration between the NEA, Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense, Blue Star Museums enlists museums of all types throughout the country to provide free admission to active duty military personnel and their families between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

In its second year last summer, 1,526 organizations ranging from art museums to science centers to historical landmarks signed up to be Blue Star Museums. Through their efforts, 300,000 active duty military personnel and their families visited museums free of charge in 2011.

This year, Blue Star Museums will begin on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012 and extend through Labor Day, September 3, 2012. Museums can still sign up online at http://apps.nea.gov/BlueStarSignUp/MainPage.aspx

Challenge America

Fast-Track Grant Application

Deadline - May 24th    

The May 24th deadline for applying for a $10,000 NEA Challenge America Fast-Track grant is fast approaching. Challenge America Fast-Track grants support primarily small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations - those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. These grants are a great opportunity for first-time NEA grant applicants, and all of the grant awards are $10,000 matching grants.

The guidelines for applying can be found on our website at http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/index.html.  Additionally, NEA staff conducted an hour-long webinar workshop for those interested in applying for a Challenge America Fast-Track grant. You can share an archived recording of this webinar with your constituents at http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/CAFT-NEA-GO-webinar.html/

Preservation and Access Education and Training

Deadline June 28, 2012 for Projects Beginning January 2013

Preservation and Access Education and Training grants support national or regional (multistate) education and training programs. Grants aim to help the staff of cultural institutions, large and small, obtain the knowledge and skills needed to serve as effective stewards of humanities collections.

Grants also support educational programs that prepare the next generation of conservators and preservation professionals, as well as projects that introduce the staff of cultural institutions to new information and advances in preservation and access practices. Information on the number of applications and awards in individual competitions is available from preservation@neh.gov.