R. Hiko’ula Hanapi

November 19, 1955 ~ April 17, 2010

Hiko‘ula Hanapi was and artist and lifelong educator who spent over 20 years in Hawai‘i‘s  public school system, as well in the private and government non-profit education realms, teaching horticulture, ethnobotany, Hawaiian Natural history, Hawaiian culture, sovereignty, and the arts.   An accomplished artist, used contemporary media to express his ideas and further the educational discourse about Hawai’i’s past, present and future.

A founding member of the Keomailani Hanapi Foundation, Hanapi also organized the PIKO Gathering of Indigenous Artists in 2007, the first such gathering to be held in Hawai‘i.  It was this gathering that sparked the launching of HOEA, Hawaiian ‘Ohana for Education in the Arts, an innovative organization that provides high quality art education in the Waimea community on the Big Island.  Shortly before his passing, Hiko‘ula opened the PIKO Gallery in Waimea, a gallery dedicated to the exhibition of contemporary Native Hawaiian art.

Hiko‘ula Hanapi was a true visionary.  He worked selflessly to ensure the perpetuation of the Hawaiian Culture by “increasing the availability and accessibility to Native Hawaiian Art and Artists.”   Like his home island of Hawai‘i, Hanapi’s legacy, through the Keomailani Hanapi Foundation and HOEA, and the many people he taught throughout his lifetime, will continue to grow and flourish for generations to come.