Most people who experience Pow Wow Hawai‘i this year will drop in during Saturday’s big finale, an art party that comes at the end of a week of marathon painting by artists from around the world.

But in truth, Pow Wow is in progress throughout the year.

It officially started Monday, when 40-plus artists began fanning out across Kakaako to paint walls with spray-can art in grand designs. Pow Wow organizers describe the process as breaking down the "closed doors" between artists and viewers, making art accessible, and — bonus! — "transforming a whole neighborhood with art within a week."

Kamehameha Schools’ Christian O’Connor, who helped provide locations for artists on the trust’s properties, said, "We’re promoting arts culture."

Last week, local artist and chief Pow Wow organizer Jasper Wong and three Australian street artists gathered at Fisherman’s Wharf to get a preview of the action.

Rone and Meggs of Melbourne and Phibs of Sydney (all go by their single-word "tagger" names), fresh off the plane from Australia, got out of a car looking half-awake and slightly disoriented, blinking under the bright sun. Wong gestured toward the deteriorating building, explaining it was one of the "canvases" for painting during Pow Wow, and the artists started sizing it up.

Rone loped to the back, long hair bouncing under his porkpie hat, to take a photo of the wall for planning purposes.

Meggs, a wiry, friendly guy with close-cropped red hair who kept his sunglasses screwed down tight, asked, "Can we paint the windows?"

Phibs, wearing black, silently scanned the building, front, back and side.

The real excitement has begun now, with painting under way.

Later, at Pow Wow headquarters — Fresh Cafe on Queen Street and the adjoining warehouse Loft in Space — Rone’s fellow Australians nodded in commiseration when he said he’s nearly always painting, but it’s far more often on request — coming in at "one or two a week" — than when he was a freewheeling street artist.

The artists’ vibrant works, inspired by cartoons, video games, hip-hop graffiti and all manner of contemporary art, have become widely known, and they are getting commissions, gallery shows and other opportunities.

"It’s nice to know I’m doing something I can make a living at," Rone said, again to a round of nods.

Pow Wow organizers would like to build that level of recognition for artists here, so that art can be a sustainable part of life in Honolulu.

After putting on Pow Wow in Hawaii last year, largely by means of Wong’s efforts (and credit cards), there was so much enthusiasm that organizers decided to get more ambitious. They sought community partners, ran a Kickstarter online fundraiser last summer and a more formal event at the Pacific Club in November, and have put together a more far-reaching event.

This is actually the third Pow Wow. A first event was held in Hong Kong, where Wong ran a gallery.

The base remains Loft in Space, the warehouse behind Fresh Cafe in Kakaako, where massive amounts of spray paint — more than 1,000 cans — wait for the artists.

"It’s a great space," said Wong. Improvements made in the past year include several layers of paint, new air conditioning, sound-proofing and an improved upstairs loft area that will serve as a second art gallery during Pow Wow, hosting a photography show that includes works by well-known artists and others who haven’t shown in a gallery setting before.

Pow Wow is all about making new opportunities, and organizers have been reaching out to students to spread the news. A key connection has been John Hina, aka "Prime," who for years has run art projects involving teens via his nonprofit 808 Urban. "Last year (at Pow Wow), I got to meet so many artists from around the world who share a passion," Hina said. "I gained a lot."

He created an installation at Loft in Space last August, as part of a series by visiting artists.

This year, 40 students from Roosevelt and McKinley high schools, Voyager Charter School, Kamehameha Schools, YMCA and 808 Urban will participate in Pow Wow. Their work will be mounted at Voyager Charter School today.

Wong, who attended public school here, said Hawaii schools do not give art its due, and he wants to provide a different model.

In August, during the setup for Hina’s show at Loft in Space, Wong talked enthusiastically about creating "an art gallery outside" and planting the seeds for an arts district.

This year, Wong said, "It’s a totally new game. We’re painting the whole neighborhood … and I don’t think that’s ever happened before."

Kamehameha Schools, which owns several parcels in Kakaako, is a partner with Pow Wow in putting on the event this year, providing access to two buildings under its control.

It’s part of a focus on Kakaako for the trust, which manages wide swaths of Hawaii property for the benefit of its educational programs. The master plan for its 29 acres in Kakaako includes mixed commercial, residential and creative uses. "Public contemporary art and culture" is one of them.

O’Connor said current Kakaako residents — the arts hui R&D, co-working site The Greenhouse and design retailer/import store Chai, all tenants on Kamehameha property — are examples of this kind of presence.

Pow Wow is part of a "larger strategy" for Kakaako that includes nurturing a strong creative streak. "There’s a huge demand for this type of activity," O’Connor said.

The Hawaii Community Development Authority also has big plans for Kakaako. Late last year the agency issued a request for proposals to develop Hawaii’s tallest high-rise at 690 Pohukaina St. One of the buildings on which Pow Wow artists are painting sits on this lot.

For now, though, Kakaako remains ragged and somewhat barren. Fisherman’s Wharf has been closed for months, its nautical-influenced edifice at the corner of Ala Moana Boulevard and Ward Avenue looking more and more like an abandoned ship.

Pow Wow artists, with their aggressive styles, bold colors and assertive, layered meanings, will bring new life to these locations.

"I really think this is going to put us on the map," O’Connor said.