MFA & BFA Students featured in Hawaiian Craftsman Exhibition

BFA student Rui Ann K. Apaka and MFA students Dustin Hart and Kumi Nakajima had work featured in the 2009 42nd Hawaiian Craftsman Annual Juried Statewide Exhibition. Pictured top left is the piece Women's Voices by: Rui Ann K. Apaka. This piece was awarded The Carol & Malcom Koga Emerging Artist Award [for concept].

"The woman's sized cape is created from a copy of the names and ages of female petitioners for the Anti-annexation petition presented to Congress in 1897. There were over 21,000 Hawaiians that signed the petition, approximately half were female signatures; the feather like shreds emphasize the number of people who petitioned the annexation. The cape is a reflection of my heritage as a Hawaiian woman, concerned with the future of the culture and growth of Hawaii and its place in the world." Rui Apaka (Women's Voices was purchased by the juror, Helen Drutt and is being sent to President Barack Obama)

Kumi Nakajima's four hand blown glass piece's Zen Garden Stones are pictured top right and Dustin Hart's two clay pieces Meeting in the End and Melting Pot are pictured bottom left.