Echoes of the Land: A Call for Narrative Playscapes

Maui Public Art Corps and County of Maui invite multidisciplinary design teams to the Hui Moʻolelo Intergenerational Playscape Project. This initiative commissions three permanent, story-grounded installations in Maui County parks with a $500,000 budget per site ($1.5M total).

Using a "listening-first" model, teams will translate archived local story recordings from the Hui Moʻolelo menu into immersive play environments for keiki, adults, kūpuna, and elder kamaʻāina. We seek firms—including architects and engineers—to manage the full lifecycle from cultural alignment to safety certification.

The "Design & Venue Matching" model allows finalists to receive a stipend to refine concepts for specific parks. Designs may optionally include salvaged wildfire timber and stumps from Lahaina and Kula as a functional second life for these materials.

Substantial Completion: Sept 30, 2026 

Public Unveiling: Oct 30, 2026 

Details: mauipublicart.org/apply-play.html

Please refer to https://www.mauipublicart.org/apply-play.html for descriptive images and more.

A. Introduction

The Hui Moʻolelo Intergenerational Playscape Project is a visionary initiative to create three (3) permanent, story-grounded playscape installations within public parks across Maui County.

This project follows a "Design & Venue Matching" model. Rather than applying for a specific park, multidisciplinary teams are invited to submit their qualifications and a conceptual approach based on our Hui Moʻolelo story archives. Following a review of the application pool, our community panel will match selected finalists with specific park locations that best align with their design aesthetic and the cultural narratives of that community. 

In a gesture of renewal and resilience, the County of Maui invites (but does not require) design teams to consider the integration of salvaged wood and stumps recovered from the 2023 wildfires in Lahaina and Kula, offering these honored remnants a second life as foundational elements of play and memory within the new playscapes.

• Total Project Opportunity: Three (3) distinct commissions.
• Capital Budget: $500,000 per site (comprehensive of design, fabrication, and installation).
• The Foundation: This is a "listening-first" project. Teams will not collect new stories; instead, they will select from a curated "menu" of recorded community moʻolelo to serve as the conceptual heart of the build.
• RFQ Process: Selected finalists may enter a stipended "Refinement Phase" to adapt their concepts to a specific matched venue before final contracts are awarded. Due to the project deadline, we encourage you to be as detailed as possible in your application.
• Project Development Process: Applications will be reviewed by a community panel. Selected team/s will then enter a collaborative development phase, working closely with community members, Maui Public Art Corps, and partners to refine their initial ideas into a site-specific, participatory artwork. This process includes identifying a proverb from Mary Kawena Pukui’s ʻŌlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings to ground each work in historical and cultural context.

Please note: This is a commission, not a grant. Unlike a grant, which funds an application as submitted, this commission involves an evolving creative process. Team/s are selected for their vision and experience, but must be open to research, dialogue, and adaptation as the project develops. Collaboration, flexibility, and community engagement are core expectations of this opportunity.

B. Mo'olelo

Artists must select an excerpt from our story archive as inspiration for their public art proposal. Selected projects will be matched with appropriate park sites based on story, feasibility, and community impact; your site is the story. In order to create an efficient panel selection process, applicants are asked to base their proposals off of the excerpts listed, yet upon invitation to join may choose any part of the full story recording for the final project. Applications will only be received via CaFÉ.

While all stories in our Hui Mo‘olelo archive are eligible to form the basis of your application (VIEW ALL), preference will be given to the following Maui stories:

1. Makalapua Kanuha Bancaco & Noelle Storer (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
2. Kaliko Storer & Haunani Tolentino Roback (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
3. Cornelio Bancaco Jr. & Noelle Storer (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
4. Kanoelani Kenolio, Hoke Delatori & Noelle Storer (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
5. Trinity, Kyla, Nayah & Noelle Storer (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
6. Kelly McHugh-White & Rae Kahaialiʻi (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
7. Walter Tokishi, Speech Pathologist & his granddaughter Naomi Tokishi, Maui High Student (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
8. Lopaka Aiwohi, Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana & Christina Wine, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
9. Peter Hanohano & Tina Kailiponi, Maui Food Bank (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
10. Pūlama Collier, Hawaiian scholar, educator, artist, and philosopher & her son Kiaʻi Collier, Waihee Manager, Hawaii Land Trust (Full Recording Part 1 | Part 2 | Excerpt 1 | Excerpt 2)
11. Kepa Cabanilla-Aricayos, King’s Maui Experience Director & Manny Aruda (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
12. Eugene Kahoʻohanohano & Francis Tauʻa, Maui Performing Artist & Teaching Artist (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
13. Andrea Kealoha, Department of Oceanography, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa & her father Sheldon Kealoha (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
14. Uncle Randy Medeiros of Hāna & Nalani Kalama-Kaikala, Registered Nurse (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
15. Marjorie Kahalaomapuana & Francis Tauʻa, Maui Performing Artist & Teaching Artist (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
16. Papa Benjamin Helekahi Jr. of Hāna & Nalani Kalama-Kaikala, Registered Nurse (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
17. Liana Horovitz, University of Hawaiʻi Maui College & her father Paul Mancini (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
18. Lopaka White and Kaleʻa Paiva of the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt 1 | Excerpt 2)
19. Cynthia Cary, Retired social worker, University of Hawaiʻi Maui College Human Services Program & Lee Stein (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
20. Hōkū Pavao, Maui performing artist and arts administrator & Francis Taua (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
21. Daniel Southmayd, Medical Case Manager at Maui Aids Foundation Inc. & Nilo Nono (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
22. Coach Earle Kukahiko & Kaliko Storer of Lāhainā (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
23. Erin Wade & Carol Ball (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
24. Louis Garcia III & Kaliko Storer of Lāhainā (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
25. Reverend Gensho Hara, Lāhainā Jodo Mission & his daughter, Yayoi Hara (Full Recording HERE | Translated transcript HERE)
26. Abraham "Snake" Ah Hee, Lahainaluna Class of 1964, Lopaka White, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission and Myrna Ah Hee, Lahainaluna Class of 1980 (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt #1 | Excerpt #2)
27. Tom Fujita, Lahainaluna High School Class of 1962 & Dean Tokishi, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
28. Theo Morrison, Executive Director, Lahaina Restoration Foundation & Erin Wade, Planning & Development Chief, County of Maui (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
29. Teva Medeiros, Lāhaināluna High teacher and his Grandfather Timothy Medeiros Sr. (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
30. Uncle William Garcia, Jr. & Pualani Enos, UH Mānoa Matsunaga Institute for Peace (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
31. Scott Fisher, Director of ʻĀina Stewardship at Hawai'i Land Trust & Kim Thayer of Mauna Kahalawai Watershed Partnership (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
32. Bruce Uʻu & Nohe Uʻu-Hodgins of Hawaiian Canoe Club, Ho'aloha Park, Kahului (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
33. Uncle “Gaby” Gouveia & Pualani Enos, UH Mānoa Matsunaga Institute for Peace (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
34. Jeanette Nalani Kaauamo of Wailuanui & Lopaka White, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
35. Andrew Chin, ukulele instructor at ʻĪao Intermediate School & his stepfather, artist Michael Takemoto (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
36. Joyce Kawahara, Kahului Elementary (and more!) & Dean Tokishi, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
37. Jennifer Freeland, Behavioral Health Specialist · Hawaiʻi State Department of Education & her father, Haines Burt Freeland (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
38. Kevin Gavagan, Assistant Director of Engineering at Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea and & his daughter, marine biologist Kukui Gavagan (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
39. Hōkūlani Holt, PhD, Kumu Hula, Pāʻū O Hiʻiaka, Ka Hikina O Ka Lā, University of Hawaii Maui College & Cody Pueo Pata, Kumu Hula, Halau Hula ʻo ka Malama Mahilani (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
40. Musicians Anthony Pfluke & Kevin Brown (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
41. Michael K. Nāhoʻopiʻi, master lauhala weaver and Executive Director of Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission & Kelly McHugh-White, Maui Public Art Corps (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
42. Hōaka Delos Reyes, expert in the field of stone-on-stone carving (kālai pōhaku) & Anuhea Yagi, Student of Hawaiian Life Ways (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
43. Kahoʻiwai Belsom, Attorney & Jocelyn Romero Demirbag, Ed.D., Director of Development, Maui Nui at The University of Hawaii Foundation (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
44. Michael Bursack & Annadele Yahiro, Docents for Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House / Maui Historical Society (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
45. Kekoa Enomoto, ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu and Chairwoman, Paʻupena Community Development Corporation & Kauwela Bisquera, General Manager, Queen Kaʻahumanu Center (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
46. Coach John McCandless (aka Johnny Mac) & Dean Tokishi, Ocean Resources Specialist, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
47. Sally Ann Delos Reyes, Water-woman & Lopaka White, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
48. Frank De Rego, Maui Police Commission, Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, Maui County Climate Action Resiliency Planning Advisory Committee & Wallette Pellegrino (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
49. Roselle Bailey, Kumu Hula, Ka’Imi Na’auao O Hawaii Nei Institute & Anuhea Yagi, Student of Hawaiian Life Ways (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
50. Sissy Lake-Farm & Lopaka White talk story about Hawaiian Canoe Club (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
51. Clifford Naeʻole, Cultural Advisor at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua & Hōkūao Pellegrino, Nohoʻana Farm (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
52. Gordean Bailey, Kumu Hula, Halau Wehiwehi of Leilehua & Sissy Lake-Farm, Kumu Hula, Hālau Makana Aloha O Ka Lauaʻe (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
53. Nani Fay Paglinawan, Women Helping Women lifetime achievement awardee & Pualani Enos, UH Mānoa Matsunaga Institute for Peace (Excerpt HERE)
54. Kalapana Kollars, Hawaiian Cultural Programs Director, Lahaina Restoration Foundation & Wallette Pellegrino (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
55. Dean Tokishi, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission & Skippy Hau, Aquatic Biologist, State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)
56. Lopaka White, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission + Kepā Maly, Cultural Historian & Resource Specialist, Executive Director of Lānaʻi Culture and Heritage Center (Full Recording HERE | Excerpt HERE)

C. Project Opportunity

The selected team/s will be commissioned to co-develop an innovative project with our team that engages a diverse public audience. Our team reserves the right to reject any and all applications, to waive any irregularities in the applications received and to accept the applications that are in the best interest of Maui Public Art Corps and the County of Maui. Our goal is to match your team’s unique creative signature with a community and landscape where it will have the most impact.Applications will be reviewed by an evaluation panel with selection criteria aimed at quality, style, experience in creating works of this scale and engagement, connection to a Hui Mo‘olelo story, and a proven track record of successful collaboration work. All applications must be submitted by the marked deadline. 

Application requirements: ​Applications will only be received via CaFÉ and will not be accepted after the marked deadline. Applicants may apply as a single artist or multi-person collaborative group. Please carefully review the application requirements before beginning the online application process, as incomplete applications will not be considered. If you are uploading .pdf documents, they must measure 8.5" x 11"

1. Mo‘olelo (enter the Hui Mo‘olelo recording from section B that will inspire your artwork, e.g. Joyce Kawahara & Dean Tokishi)
2. Applicant/ team Bio (approximately 250 words)
3. Condensed Résumé​ (Please include experience in creating communal or public art installations and two references. If attachments exceed 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be seen by panelists.)
4. Statement of Interest (Please submit a statement briefly explaining your interest in our mission, your design approach and your experience working with diverse stakeholders)
5. Typology of Play: How does your team interpret gathering, rest, and storytelling in 3D space? Consider spatial strategies such as circulation, seating, shade, climbable forms, or other elements that encourage multi-generational interaction.
6. Project Description: What will you create? How will the Hui Mo‘olelo excerpt you selected inform your project? You may select a proverb from ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings by Mary Kawena Pukui to help ground your project, or, one will be selected with you during the project development stage. Explain how your project will tie into the community. Include examples or opportunities for broad community engagement that specifically pertain to your proposed project, e.g. a hands-on workshop, panel discussion, open rehearsal, classroom activity, or other ideas.
7. Project Budget (Include all costs associated with the project including, but not limited to: insurance, tools, materials, fabrication, rentals, installation, sound, shade/ tents, shipping, travel/ accommodations, assistant/s, ground transportation and any other costs). Each project's budget request may vary depending on the project's specific needs. The request must be in increments of $100. Multiple project budgets may be submitted as "Option A" . "Option B", etc. Proposed budgets should reflect the $500,000 per-site capital budget and must include all project-related costs, including design, engineering, fabrication, installation, travel, insurance, and associated project expenses.
8. Concept Design
9. Notes (optional)

NOTE: The selected Team/s will receive a commission not to exceed the budget cap of the opportunity listed in section C. No additional compensation will be provided unless otherwise stated in the “additional information” linked documents. ​

• Those 18 years and older are invited to apply
• Selected Team/s will be required to provide a W-9 to the County of Maui
• Selected Team/s will engage in a period of project development to determine opportunities for community involvement, identify/ confirm an ʻōlelo noʻeau (traditional Hawaiian proverbs and poetical sayings), and to clearly identify inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes.
• Team/s will be responsible for all costs (including site visits where needed) incurred in preparing or responding to this application. All materials and documents submitted in response to the solicitation become the property of Maui Public Art Corps and the County of Maui, and will not be returned.
• Team/s will be required to provide all tools, equipment, insurance, technology, knowledge and labor necessary to successfully execute the proposed project.
• Final work will be created after Team/s selection is confirmed.
• All projects will be professionally documented. Maui Public Art Corps shall retain ownership of the video/ photo documentation and may choose to promote or display the work publicly, at a later date.
• No actual or potential conflict shall exist between Team/s and family, business, or financial interests for the proposed services in this RFQ.
• Team/s shall not be in a reporting relationship to a County of Maui employee who is a near relative, nor shall the near relative be in a decision-making position with respect to the Team/s.