The parking garage in the Kalanimoku Building has been transformed with a new mural project aimed at brightening the previously plain space. Last month, director and comptroller Keith Regan welcomed local volunteers to participate, providing supplies for the community-driven effort. According to a Governor’s Office announcement, the initiative brings vibrant colors to the structure, which has largely remained unchanged since the 1970s.
According to James Kurata, the Central Services Division Administrator, whose eye for potential turned a maintenance moment into an artistic movement, the cleaning of the walls led to a brainstorm: how to “brighten up the environment for the visitors and the employees.” It was a concept eventually brought to life by the collective efforts of forty community members, dabbing and sweeping color across a mural that now stretches down the garage's long corridor.
Artistic direction was provided by Solomon Enos, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts' Artist-In-Residence, who employed an abstract smattering of triangles to give form to his vision. The design, as Enos told the Governor's Office, represents a fishing net, weaving a metaphor for connectivity and support. "Nets are used to carry, nets are used to connect and network and all of those different kinds of connotations are poetic expressions of the work that happens in this building,” as the artist put it into words.
A new mural project in the basement of the Kalanimoku Building is showcasing a range of colors inspired by the natural palette of the islands and reflecting the local community’s cultural heritage. Organizers say the initiative was designed to brighten the space and engage residents, leaving a lasting impression on those who participated in the painting event.
