Ma kāhi o ka hana ola ma laila translates in English as: “Where work is, there is life.” Like most of the proverbs in Mary Kawena Pukui’s seminal ʻŌlelo Noʻeau, the meaning behind this phrase is much more than any translation can decode.

As the title of Kahilu’s 2025 Cultural Heritage Exhibition, Proverb 2090 refers to the kuleana of master craftspeople to perpetuate the traditions of their crafts. Through their work, we honor the traditions of the Islands through fashion, basketry, featherwork, quilting, kapa, and cordage. Each piece of beat wauke, stitched fabric, woven ʻie ʻie, and braided fibers adds to the story of resilience and perseverance of culture in Hawaiʻi.

The presenting artists are masters and stewards of many traditions. Some create work resembling pieces that had arrived on Hawaiʻi’s shores a millennia ago. Others have helped grow traditions born from the arrival of foreign ideas, crafts, and materials. Many artists have bridged the ancient and the modern to create something reflective of this moment in time, when more and more people are connecting to indigenous knowledge while trying to rectify the pains of the past.

This exhibition Kahilu is honored to present the artistry and collections of:

• Gay Covington
• Alika Desha
• Kapulei Flores
• Puakea Forester
• Roen Hufford and Marie McDonald
• Kira Kamamalu
• Edwin Kayton
• Jayne Kerns
• Beau Jack Key
• Renson Madarang
• Barbara Nobriga
• Kumulaʻau &
• Haunani Sing
• Taupōuri Tangarō
• Aloha Victor
• and others