08 Jan Kauluhiwaolele Maui Fiber Arts Conference at Kāʻanapali Beach Hotel

Save the Date

2020 KAULUHIWAOLELE MAUI FIBER ARTS CONFERENCE

SEPTEMBER 9-12,2020

Ola i ka Pū Hala Weaving Conference is now known as Kauluhiwaolele Maui Fiber Arts Conference to recognize the multiple ways we utilize Hawaiian plant material. Leaves, bark, sedges and roots are just some of the fibers used to weave, twill, twine and knot into precious creations.

Kauluhiwaolele speaks to the esteemed groves from which we gather the fibers to fashion our traditional crafts and the increasing practice of these precious arts in Lĝhaina. The pū hala (pandanus tree) is celebrated as an important part of every Hawaiian family in our woven mats, pillows, baskets, and the sails that brought our people on canoes across the Pacific. ʻIeʻie is an endemic woody, branching climber (Freycinetia arborea) which is made into the finest baskets, fish traps, and as a sturdy frameworks for other crafts. Kōkō is the practice of knotting sennit to create nets and calabash net-carriers. ‘Upena is the net structure to which ti leaves or feathers are attached. The conference will consist of four days of intense instruction of these weaving crafts by 20 of our kumu (master practitioners) from throughout Hawaiʻi.

150 students will be invited to the opening and closing ceremonies of the conference, and learn the associated protocols of gathering and utilizing weaving materials. Huakaʻi (excursions) will be open to conference attendees the day prior to the beginning of the conference to outplant weaving materials such as: pū hala, ʻieʻie, makaloa, and ʻolonĝ to restore native forests in partnership with conservation organizations . Kumu panel discussions on topics like ʻŝlelo Hawaiʻi in fiber arts will be hosted daily.

Local favorites will be served at the culminating celebration, and students will be encouraged to wear or display the items they created throughout the conference. Live Hawaiian musicians will entertain between the silent and live auctions hosted that evening. The proceeds will be used to bring more kumu to the conference and go towards scholarships for conference attendees. The dinner, Hawaiian craft fair and workshops in the lobby will be open to participants and the general public.

Mission

The mission of Kauluhiwaolele Maui Fiber Arts Conference is to increase the number of community-based educators and resources by inviting students from around the world to learn from master practitioners.

Vision

Kauluhiwaolele Maui Fiber Arts Conference is a four-day event where 150 students will learn from 20 master practitioners of hala, ʻieʻie, kŝkŝ puʻupuʻu and ‘upena.  Students will have the opportunity to participate in ceremony, protocol, and huakaʻi to contribute to the restoration and conservation of raw weaving materials on Maui. Presentations from community agencies and panel discussions led by master practitioners will accompany the festivities. An event dinner with pūpū, live music, silent and live auction, and Hawaiian craft fair open to conference attendees and the general public will be the culminating celebration of the conference.