CONTACT is the most comprehensive, annual, thematic exhibition of contemporary art made in Hawai‘i.

The exhibition explores the notion of contact as it relates to Hawai‘i, its people, and their experiences. Each year, a CONTACT theme is selected as a curatorial/juried framework for the artwork:

• 2014: First Contact

• 2015: Americanization (1890s–1930s)

• 2016: Foreign and Familiar

• 3017: Hawai‘i in a Thousand Years

• 2018: CONTACT Zone. (sites of cultural intersection)

• 2019: Acts of Faith (spiritual contact)

CONTACT requires artists to meditate on the very essence of contemporary cultures in Hawai‘i. Old clichés and dated perceptions projected onto Hawai‘i are set aside in favor of a revised understanding of self, collective identity, and current culture. The artwork in CONTACT seeks to bring into focus “the real Hawai‘i” — the Hawai‘i continually shaped and reimagined by its people — and uncover a deeper understanding of the cultural, historical, and future-present concerns that matter most to the people of Hawai‘i.

Presented by the nonprofit Pu‘uhonua Society, CONTACT is a community driven endeavor.