Federal grants help Hawaii arts and culture groups survive pandemic

Arts and culture community leaders say federal grants totaling $759,500 helped them stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the American Rescue Plan, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts recently announced that it distributed funds to 41 arts and culture organizations and 20 practitioners and artists this fiscal year. Provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the money seeks to support the arts and culture sectors to survive and recover from the widespread impacts of the pandemic.

Each nonprofit received $15,000 and individuals were awarded $7,225.

Carolyn Wright, executive director of the Maui Aca­demy of Performing Arts, said it used the grant money to help pay salaries for two positions: a communications director and a new business manager. Wright said those positions are critical in bringing back many of the programs that had to be halted during the pandemic.

Although the nonprofit offered some of its programs online, Wright said many of its classes weren’t as successful virtually as they were in person. On top of the federal grant and other funds and donations the nonprofit received, Wright said it was able to survive with income from virtual classes and productions. It hopes to resume many of its programs this month depending on the COVID-19 situation, she said.

“Our income dropped down to almost nothing. We were the first industry to shut down and probably the last industry to open up,” she said. “When we were all isolated, unable to connect with other people in person, a lot of people turned to the arts. We’re really grateful to the community for expressing the value of the arts.”

Kumu hula Vicky Holt Takamine, founder and executive director of the PA‘I Foundation, which works to preserve Native Hawaiian arts and cultural traditions, said the pandemic has been particularly difficult for artisans and cultural practitioners. The revered kumu said the foundation also used the grant funds to help pay staff salaries, as well as cover the rent and facilities costs to keep its Kalihi center up and running.

By doing this, Holt Takamine said the foundation was able to support other artisans and practitioners, including Robert Cazimero and Kuana Torres Kahele, during the pandemic by allowing them to host virtual workshops and classes in the foundation’s space. Although she had submitted the grant for in-person activities prior to the pandemic, she said the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts allowed her to repurpose the money.

“For a while we closed our doors like everyone else. We were missing that personal connection with each other. It’s not the same. It’s still not the same,” she said. “One of the things about music, dance and art is that it uplifts our people. It’s how we define a culture and a community, is through our arts and culture.”

Jessica Welch, executive director of the Manoa Heritage Center, a nonprofit that offers cultural and educational programs, agreed that arts and culture play an important role.

Welch said the center used the grant money to retain its staff. It also helped to continue and resume some programs, including welcoming smaller school groups back to the center in the fall. It was also able to resume its Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike classes, which offer hands-on workshops with artists and cultural practitioners, in the spring, as well as started a new program called ‘Ohana Mala, which teaches families about gardening.

“Anything that promotes creativity and curiosity allows you to get out of yourself and make sense of the world around you, which I think is really important now more than ever,” Welch said. “Programs that focus on arts and culture allow for a centering and grounding effect, and especially during a pandemic, emotional well-being is so important.”

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Jayna Omaye covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national serv­ice organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under­covered issues and communities.