E Kū Ana Ka Paia

Exhibition: E Kū Ana Ka Paia: Unification, Responsibility and the Kū Images
Dates: june 5 to October 4, 2010, Wednesday to Monday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Place: Hawaiian Hall & J.M. Long Gallery, Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, Hawai'i (US)

Admission: Adult $ 17.95

Webpage: www.bishopmuseum.org

About the exhibition:

Bishop Museum, the British Museum, and the Peabody Essex Museum are partnering to bring together the three largest Kū images in the world for a historic exhibition this summer. It will be the first time in over 150 years that three traditional Kū images of this size and magnitude have been displayed alongside one another.

Since the reopening of Hawaiian Hall in August 2009, Bishop Museum's Kū image has been prominently displayed as a central piece in the Hall. The British Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts both have Kū images in their collections. Those two Kū will be loaned to Bishop Museum for the duration of the exhibition.

Kū is known throughout the Pacific as the god of procreation, prosperity, and warfare. Coinciding with the bicentennial of the unification of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the unification of these Kū images provides an unprecedented opportunity to explore issues such as cultural identity, family and community responsibility, political sovereignty, and the role of museums in fostering cross-cultural dialogue.

The images will be on display during the season of Kauwela, a time traditionally associated with Kū. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience these three incredible images.

This project is a momentous undertaking involving many stakeholders and funders. They include: The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, PA‘I Foundation, the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts project, the Education through Cultural and Historic Organizations project, and the Hawai‘i congressional delegation.

© Text: Bishop Museum, Photo: Peabody Essex Museum