INhonolulu Magazine Issue #14 - February 2014 | Page 4
From page 3
members even get in on the fun, helping
prep the walls for painting and taking
part in the creation of the murals. As of
this writing, there are a total of 65 wall
spaces that will be muraled this year.
But POW! WOW! Hawai‘i is much
more than just murals, and the murals
are more than just graffiti. POW! WOW!
Hawai‘i celebrates art and culture, and as
such has always embraced a variety of
artists and performers from around the
world. This year, there are even more
local artists involved, balancing out the
names from the mainland and other
countries, and the event continues to
grow in size and popularity, bringing in
big names like Buff Monster. And Christa says that big things are planned for
both POW! WOW!’s opening and finale,
the latter being a block party that will be
bigger than anything they’ve had to date.
Kaka‘ako, however, is also growing
and changing. POW! WOW! Hawai‘i exists today in a neighborhood filled with
older warehouses and industrial buildings. That won’t be the case as development in the area continues to accelerate,
replacing empty lots, warehouses and
even popular venues with residential
towers and pedestrian friendly malls.
What happens to the murals and the live
art demonstrations when the spaces that
house those events are no more? Does
POW! WOW! the event move to another neighborhood? Does POW! WOW!
as a concept live on?
Christa explains that she’s just going
with the flow, and while she can’t speak
for the other board members, she’s not
thinking of what’s coming in five years
so much as she’s focusing on 2014 the
more immediate future. But she does
envision POW! WOW! garnering much
more global appeal than it currently has,
where the event will draw in people from
all over the world, much like the attention
bestowed upon the city of Austin, Texas
during their SXSW Festival. Christa also
shares that she would like to one day see
POW! WOW! Hawai‘i expand to include
cinema and food, both art forms that get
their own attention in other local events,
but haven’t yet been given the sort of
Page 4
spotlight on on process and collaboration
that POW! WOW! is all about.
While the event grows ever larger here,
POW! WOW! has also begun to sprawl
out beyond our island chain. 2013 saw
the minds behind POW! WOW! spin off
the concept across the Pacific into Portland, Oregon where it took the form of
a public mural project called Forest For
the Trees. There are also talks of holding
POW! WOW! type events in Jamaica and
Israel, possibly as early as this year.
As our conversation drew on, Christa’s energy was at an even higher point
that when we first sat down, her excitement emanating like sparks
from a Tesla sphere.
I pointed this out to
her and she laughed,
saying that she just
couldn’t help herself
because there was
so much great
stuff to look
for ward
to. It was
easy to
g e t
caught up in her infectious vibe, and I
found myself even more excited for this
year’s installment of POW! WOW!
Hell, not just this year, but next
year and beyond. POW! WOW! Hawai‘i may be closely associated with
Kaka‘ako, but whatever type of community that Kaka‘ako develops into,
POW! WOW! will take on a shape and
energy all it’s own. If Christa’s passion
is indicative of the rest of the POW!
WOW! board, it will surely find a way
to continue and grow and thrive.
But if I ever needed a reason to go
to Jamaica… ■
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