Kūkulu: Behold the Pillars of Mauna Kea

The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) brings Kūkulu: Behold the Pillars of Mauna Kea to Long Beach, California. This 21st installation beholds traditional arts, film, photos and music from the movement to protect the sacred mountain of Mauna Kea. Its enduring messages will be woven into the many stories from many islands, cared for at PIEAM.

Kūkulu is a project of the Mauna Kea Education and Awareness, whose purpose is to educate and raise the awareness of communities on the spiritual, historical, cultural, and environmental significance of Mauna Kea. It highlights the decades-long resistance to the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope project, which drew global attention in 2019 as Mauna Kea Kia'i (protectors) maintained a six-month blockade of the access road leading to the project and 38 Kūpuna (elders) were arrested. This exhibit at PIEAM also shares how indigenous people of Turtle Island stand together to protect all sacred places.

This exhibit is generously supported in part by the Mauna Kea Education and Awareness and The Constellations Culture Change Fund & Initiative, Center for Cultural Power.

In connection with this new installation, PIEAM will be screening a portion of the documentary film Standing Above the Clouds on Saturdays, May 3, 10, 17 and 24 at 1:30 PM. Please RSVP to team@pieam.org as seating is limited.

Image: "WE ARE MAUNA KEA" Weshoyot Alvitre, pen, ink, and digital coloring 2019