Maui Public Art April 2026 Call to Artists

Maui Public Art Corps and County of Maui invite artists to the 2026 Artist Commission Call, rooted in the Hui Moʻolelo program. This call seeks creators across disciplines to interpret archived oral histories into site-specific public art through a "listening-first" model of co-authorship with community members and elder kamaʻāina.

Project Categories:

• Performances: Pop-up music, theater, or dance ($5,000).
• Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center: Major architectural integrations including elevator shafts, decorative railings, concrete columns, and landscape installs ($50K–$300K).
• Lahaina Mosaic: Digital art submissions for a community installation.
• Open Call: Various media including sculpture, murals, or lightwork ($20K max).

This is a professional commission for services, prioritizing significance to place and cultural stewardship. Deadline: April 7, 2026, via CaFÉ. Info: mauipublicart.org/apply-open.html

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

A. Introduction

Our 2026 Request for Qualifications (RFQ) stems from Hui Mo‘olelo, a program that cultivates site-specific stories through community workshops rooted in Maui County. Selected artists will interpret one of these stories as a work of visual, performance, or experiential public art developed in collaboration with community members. The goal of these public art projects is to promote the unique history, culture and community of distinct sites throughout the County of Maui. 

Please review each project description below carefully and base your proposal on one of the provided story excerpts. (Click HERE to view a 5-minute film summarizing this work.) 

Artist applications will be reviewed by a community panel. Selected artists 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 (with the exception of Project Category C6, which converts selected submissions directly to production). 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 for services, not a grant. You are being hired to enter a collaborative design process. Unlike a grant where you receive funds to execute a pre-set idea, this commission is a partnership where your initial proposal will evolve based on community dialogue and site requirements.

B. Mo‘olelo

Our Hui Mo‘olelo program is the heartbeat of this call. We are looking for artists who don't just 'use' a story, but who seek to honor and amplify the lived experiences of Maui County's people. Your work will become a new chapter in the preservation of these histories.

Artists will select an excerpt from our story archive as inspiration for their public art proposal (with the exception of Project Category C6, which may base submissions from our student-led "Maui Strong" project). Selected projects will be matched with appropriate venues, resources, and support based on scale, feasibility, and community impact. 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.

• Select your mo‘olelo from the menu on THIS page

C. Project Categories

Artists will select one of the project opportunities below for their public art proposal. Artists may apply for more than one category by submitting multiple applications. Applications will only be received via CaFÉ.

C1. Pop-Up Performances
We invite artists to submit proposals for a site-specific pop-up performance inspired by a story from our Hui Mo‘olelo program. This opportunity encourages creativity and innovation across disciplines, including but not limited to music, choreography, spoken word, and original theatrical works. Selected performances may stand alone or be combined with others to create a longer-format event or festival.

• Description: Select a Hui Mo‘olelo recording to interpret as a 20-30 minute set of original music, dance, theater, spoken word or other performance art. Our team may pair multiple artist proposals for a collaborative project (see example).
• Application Deadline: April 7, 2026
• Budget Cap: $5,000
• Additional information: HERE

C2. Outdoor Elevator Shaft Installation
We are partnering with the Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center on a major renovation that will integrate public art throughout the site. A key feature is the building’s exterior elevator shaft — a vertical concrete/stucco surface approximately 34–36 ft high × 10–12 ft wide per façade — facing the ocean and visible from Baldwin Beach Park. This is an ideal location for a durable, marine-grade 3D or relief artwork that becomes a visual landmark for Pāʻia.

• Description: Create a permanent, weather-resistant installation integrated into or applied to the exterior elevator shaft.
• Application Deadline: April 7, 2026
• Budget Cap: $50,000–$90,000 (Inclusive of 20% Artist Fee and all production costs)
• Timeline: Artwork installation slated for Q2 2027
• Theme: Based on a Hui Mo‘olelo recording rooted in Pāʻia (or another Maui story connected to Pāʻia through community collaboration). This is our second round RFQ; please visit THIS page to learn from the current/ first round.
• Additional information: HERE

C3. Decorative Metal Railing Panels
As part of the Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center renovation, artists are invited to design decorative metal infill panels for the second-story lanai, stairways, and exterior walkways. These areas are highly visible gathering spaces overlooking the ocean, offering opportunities for narrative or ecological imagery rendered in precision-cut or layered metalwork.

• Description: Design approximately 25–30 decorative railing panels (each 3–4 ft wide × 3–3.5 ft high) integrated into a code-compliant guardrail system.
• Application Deadline: April 7, 2026
• Budget Cap: $50,000–$58,000 (Inclusive of 20% Artist Fee and all production costs)
• Timeline: Artwork installation slated for Q2 2027
• Theme: Based on a Hui Mo‘olelo recording rooted in Pāʻia (or another Maui story connected to Pāʻia through community collaboration). This is our second round RFQ; please visit THIS page to learn from the current/ first round.
• Additional information: HERE

C4. Concrete Column Integration
The new Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center features structural concrete columns visible on all façades, particularly along the ocean-facing lanai. Artists are invited to explore surface treatments, cast-in reliefs, or applied sculptural bands that integrate art into these architectural elements while maintaining structural integrity and durability in the marine environment.

• Description: Develop & implement a design concept for artistic integration on exterior concrete columns (approx. 18–20" diameter × 10–12 ft tall).
• Application Deadline: April 7, 2026
• Budget Cap: $60,000–$250,000 (Inclusive of 20% Artist Fee and all production costs)
• Timeline: Artwork installation slated for Q2 2027
• Theme: Based on a Hui Mo‘olelo recording rooted in Pāʻia (or another Maui story connected to Pāʻia through community collaboration). This is our second round RFQ; please visit THIS page to learn from the current/ first round.
• Additional information: HERE

C5. Permanent Landscape or Environmental Installation
The Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center campus extends toward Baldwin Beach Park, offering opportunities for landscape-scale artworks that engage the site’s natural, cultural, and environmental context. Artists may propose permanent installations integrated into the landscape, or rotating sculpture garden concepts that bring changing creative experiences to the community.

• Description: Propose a durable outdoor installation integrated into the landscape or a temporary sculpture garden on plinths.
• Application Deadline: April 7, 2026
• Budget Cap: Permanent Installation: $240,000–$300,000 (Inclusive of 20% Artist Fee and all production costs) | Sculpture Garden Loan: $2,000–$5,000 honorarium per artist (2–3 year loan)
• Timeline: Artwork installation slated for Q2 2027
• Theme: Based on a Hui Mo‘olelo recording rooted in Pāʻia (or another Maui story connected to Pāʻia through community collaboration). This is our second round RFQ; please visit THIS page to learn from the current/ first round.
• Additional information: HERE

C6. Lahaina Mosaic Project
Maui Public Art Corps invites 2D artists, students, and community members to submit original digital artwork for consideration in a large-scale mosaic installation in Lahaina.
Inspired by the student-led "Maui Strong" banner project, selected works will be transformed into durable, exterior-grade mosaic tile panels and permanently installed in a public-facing location.

• Honoraria: $200 per selected independent artist design | $50 per selected student design (paid to school or nonprofit). The final number of selected works will depend on available surface area and compositional integration.
• Application & artwork Deadline: April 7, 2026
• Selected artworks will be digitally translated and integrated into a cohesive mosaic composition. Minor adjustments (scaling, cropping, color calibration) may occur as part of fabrication.
• Note: Unlike Categories C1–C5 and C7, Category C6 is a direct submission. Selected artworks move straight to production. Applicants for C6 are not required to participate in the multi-month community engagement or proverb identification phases.
• Full technical and production details are provided in the “More Info” attachment.

C7. Open Call
This category is for artists whose work does not fit into the above categories but is still inspired by a story from our Hui Mo‘olelo program. We welcome proposals in any artistic medium that engages with the story’s theme and can be meaningfully shared with the public, such as animation, sculpture, exhibition, mural, installation, lightwork and more. 

• Description: Select a Hui Mo‘olelo recording to interpret in an artistic medium of your choosing. 
• Application Deadline: April 7, 2026
• Budget Cap: Up to $20,000 (Inclusive of 20% Artist Fee and all production costs) (Note, if proposing a mural the budget cap is $12,000). 

"Which Path is Right for Me?"

• Path A (C1-C5, C7): I want to spend months collaborating with Maui residents to build a site-specific legacy. (Standard Commission)
• Path B (C6): I have a completed digital artwork or a student project ready to be part of a community mosaic. (Direct Purchase/Honorarium)

D. Our Process

1. Call to artists (4 weeks): We work with CaFÉ when a new public art project opportunity arises. Artists share their ideas, samples and references, and a community panel makes recommendations on the most promising projects.

​2. Project development (1-2 weeks): Our team workshops top proposals to determine a fit as well as possible activities for broad engagement, mentors, and opportunities to connect to a sense of place. Artists are invited, contracted and connected to project collaborators.

​3. Community engagement (2-12 weeks): Together, the artist, program partners and project collaborators gather community input on your project proposal in order to create a revised blueprint. This has included free artist workshops, community consultations, open rehearsals, live paint days, field trips and storytelling events — but we are always open to new ideas!

​4. Proverb identification: Artists work with Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House/ Maui Historical Society to connect community input with ‘ōlelo from Mary Kawena Pūkuʻi’s ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings.

​5. Presentation: The final public artwork is completed then shared with an unveiling, performance, and/ or blessing that articulates the intention, acknowledges the many hands and many voices that contributed to the work, and offers a request + opportunity to experience the art collectively.

​6. Exchange: A project web page is created with process + product images, stories, media coverage, artist statement and, (since the onset of the pandemic), a short documentary that offers varying perspectives of the artwork to help spur a dialogue. Applicable works are added to the Hoʻokamaʻāina​ app and included in public art tours.

FAQ

The selected artists will be commissioned to co-develop an innovative project with our team that engages a diverse public audience. Themes must address the distinct sense of place, history and/ or culture of the site where the artwork will be installed. 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. Applications will be reviewed by an evaluation panel with selection criteria aimed at quality, style, experience in creating communal or public art, significance to place, 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. Multiple applications may be submitted if applying to more than one opportunity (C1-C7). 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. ​Opportunity (choose which of the projects above you are applying for, C1 through C7). 
2. Mo‘olelo (enter the Hui Mo‘olelo recording from section B that will inspire your artwork, e.g. Joyce Kawahara & Dean Tokishi)
3. Artist/s Bio (approximately 250 words)
4. Condensed Artist/s Résumé​ (Highlight your professional accomplishments as an artist or artist group. Please include experience in creating communal or public art and two references. If attachments exceed 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be seen by panelists.)
5. Statement of Interest (Please submit a statement briefly explaining your interest in our mission, your design approach and your experience working with diverse stakeholders)
6. Project Description: What will you create? (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. 
8. Concept Design (for visual work). For Project Category C6, this is your artwork submission. For others, it is a starting point. 
9. Notes (optional)

• All artists 18 years and older are invited to apply (with the exception of Project Category C6, which is open to all ages as long as the CaFe applicant is 18 years and older)
• Selected Artists and/or Artist Teams will be required to provide a W-9 to Lokahi Pacific (our fiscal sponsor for this project)
• Selected Artists and/or Artist Teams 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.
• The Artist and/or Artist Team 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.
• The Artist and/or Artist Team will be required to provide all tools, equipment, insurance, technology, knowledge and labor necessary to successfully execute the proposed project. 
• Final art will be created after artist 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 Artist and/or Artist Team and the Artist and/or Artist Team’s family, business, or financial interests for the proposed services in this RFP.
• The Artist and/or Artist Team 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 Artist and/or Artist Team.