We were proud to launch our first Mele Mural Summer Program at our home of the Kaimukī High School campus. In addition our Mele Murals Professional Development Program for Hawaii DOE teachers started the same week!
The mission of the Mele Murals Summer Progam was to serve keiki by connecting them to our island, traditional Hawaiian art making practices, and modern muralism. The program also aimed to provide 2-3 high school students with leadership development as alaka‘i (junior leaders).
22 students, ages 9 through 11, participated in our 5 week Summer Program lead by our staff, Cherisse Yamada, Luke Pomai DeKneef, and Nicole Jack. The students learned about Hawaiian navigation, agriculture, and completed three field trips to the Bishop Museum, the fishpond in He‘eia, hosted by Paepae O He‘eia, and Ka Lo’i O Kānewai. The students also learned the process our staff performed for our larger Mele Murals projects by meditating, drawing, and painting about the places they visited and learning about the land that surrounded them.
Our four day Professional Development Program also completed on June 21st with 34 teachers participating. With the second year of this program, this was the largest attendance of teachers, where they learned about the Na Hopena A‘o (Hā) program. At the same time, the teachers learned about our Mele Murals process by taking a field trip to Ka Lo’i O Kānewai and painted three murals on the Kaimukī High School campus.
