Kālai

Carving

Program Lead

Andre Perez

Andre Perez is a Hawaiian cultural activist/organizer from Kōloa, Kauaʻi. Andre organizes around Hawaiian self-determination, sovereignty and land and water defense. Andre co-founded Hanakēhau Learning Farm and the Hawaiʻi Unity and Liberation Institute (HULI). Andre is the Project Director of Hui Kālai Kiʻi o Kūpāʻaikeʻe, a Hawaiian carving practitioner apprenticeship that he founded in 2016. 

Program Overview

Hoʻokāhi ka ʻilau like ana: Wield the paddles together

“It is the water that connects the people of the Pacific. We should not be defined by the smallness of our islands but in the greatness of our oceans. We are the sea; we are the ocean. Oceania is us.”

— Professor Epeli Hau'ofa

Carving Projects (9 Carving Days):

  1. Primary Project: Hoe Uli (large steering paddle)

  2. Kiʻi Kanaloa or god of the ocean (Taʻaroa, Tangaroa, Tangaloa)

  3. Waʻa Kaulua (double hulled canoe)

  4. Supplementary projects

Koʻi (Adze) – emphasize and highlight the usage of the koʻi (adze) as a primary Oceania carving tool.

Program Venue and Schedule

Venue

Bishop Museum
1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI 96817

Dates

7 – 8 June 2024

10 – 15 June 2024

Times

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily