Pow! Wow! Hawaii, a street-art festival that attracts dozens of local and international artists to Kakaako and beyond for live-painting on curbside walls, seems to get more colorful and sprawl more widely each year.
This year, the festival will draw more than 100 artists to create murals and other forms of art.
The artist who conceived of Pow! Wow! Hawaii, and helped found it, Jasper Wong, notes that often especially appreciated murals will be painted over — so it can be a good idea to take some time this weekend, before the fresh painting starts, to take one last look at your old favorites.
Dozens of new murals will be painted on walls thoughout Kakaako and beyond beginning Monday.
To experience the Pow! Wow! phenomenon, take a ride through the light-industrial district of Kakaako and look out — and up.
Murals by internationally renowned artists cover the sides of warehouses, industrial buildings and even car- repair shops.
Some of the art is two and three stories high, other murals wrap all the way around a building.
Subjects range from fantasy to reality and have a longevity of one to several years.
THIS PHENOMENON of murals on sides of buildings began in 2011, quickly capturing local, national and international attention. When Wong, Kamea Hadar and Jeffrey Gress were student artists they had a vision of giant art; not permanent like Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, but rather art that makes a statement and then disappears to make room for the next round.
Every day for the week of the festival, artists welcome fans, curious folks and young artists thinking that Pow! Wow! might be just the thing for them. When artists are on the ground, they are happy to answer a question or two.
Wong says this crowd of artists has painted together in many countries. Once they are painting it is time to just watch and take photos.
Graffiti and underground art have been their inspiration. That was art often created under cover of darkness — considered a scourge on urban spaces. Spray-can painting is now acknowledged as a genre that deserves recognition, seen as an opportunity to change the social fabric.
Top museums around the country have featured street art in major shows, bringing it to the level of a serious art form.
Pow! Wow! walls become a destination for artists, local folks and tour vans. The Waikiki Trolley has the Pow! Wow! murals on its travel map – even more so in February when the local and international artists are creatingtheir new murals.
Visitors often stop for a quick look and return the next day to take more photos or volunteer to mix paint. Climbing on the lift and riding up buildings is reserved for the artists.
Stopping in every day to take a few photos as the murals progress makes great time-lapse art.
In the years since it had began in Hong Kong and Honolulu, Pow! Wow! has spread like wildflower seeds. In 2018, the festival was held in Honolulu, Washington, D.C.; Kathmandu, Nepal; Long Beach, Calif.; Worcester, Mass; Rotterdam, Netherlands; San Jose, Calif.; and Kobe, Japan.
POW! WOW! HAWAII 2019 EVENTS
>> “Pow! Wow! Talk Story”: 6-7 p.m. today, Alohilani Resort, 2490 Kalakaua Ave. A discussion with artists and directors at the Waikiki host hotel for Pow! Wow! Murals by Oahu’s Wooden Wave and nationwide “Greetings Tour postcard” artist Victor Ving will be unveiled.
>> Kahala Records music showcase: 7-10 p.m. today, Alohilani Resort.
>> Pow! Wow! Block Party/Night Market: 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Auahi and Keawe streets, Kakaako. The opening event, with a Pow! Wow! pop-up shop, vendors, a fashion show, food trucks and live music.
>> Pow! Wow! Exploring the New Contemporary Movement Exhibition opening: 6-10 p.m. Saturday, Wade Warehouse, 449 Cooke St. Curated by Andrew Hosner and presented in partnership with the L.A.-based Thinkspace Gallery, the show is on view until Feb. 15.
>> Mural painting: Monday through Feb. 16, all over Kakaako.
>> Monster Energy Party: 7-10 p.m. Monday, Bevy, 675 Auahi St.
>> A Talk With Artist Logan Hicks: 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, Wade Warehouse. A Pow! Wow! Hawaii featured artist.
>> Hayao Miyazaki-inspired art: 6-10 p.m. Wednesday, Ala Moana Center. An exhibition by Spoke Art, near Centerstage.
>> A Talk With Artist Shepard Fairey: 7-8 p.m. Thursday, Wade Warehouse. Shepard Fairey and Pow! Wow! founder Jasper Wong will have an intimate conversation about Shepard’s illustrious, notorious career as a street artist, sloganeer and designer.
>> Eminem: Feb. 15, Aloha Stadium. Beyond painting, organizers consider the concert by rapper Eminem and Logic part of the Pow! Wow! celebration.
>> Fitted Ramp Jam: 6-10 p.m. Feb. 16, Fitted, 754 Pohukaina St. A skate event for skateboarders and fans.
>> Pool Party Finale: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Feb. 17, Alohilani Resort. Party and brunch with all the artists and music by Kahala Records performers.
>> New Wave Friday: 6-9 p.m. Feb. 22, South Shore Market, Ward Village. Artists and fans will join in for this bonus block party, celebrating the finished murals and offering Pow! Wow! memorabilia.
