2025 Panelists
A trio of external review panelists convened to discuss applications and select this year's awardees from 31 total applicants:
Mina Elison is a Kanaka ‘Ōiwi curator who was born and raised in Kailua on the island of O‘ahu. With generational ties to South Kona on Hawai‘i, Mina currently serves as Curator at the Donkey Mill Art Center in Kona, Hawai‘i, where she curates exhibitions and programming featuring local and international artists working in diverse media from kapa to film. She sees the gallery as a classroom, laboratory, and gathering space which inspires exploration, reflection, and healing; art can be a catalyst for meaningful and challenging dialogue. Mina aims to develop collaborative exhibitions which amplify stories and perspectives of those whose voices have been marginalized, suppressed and misrepresented.
“A warm mahalo to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program and the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawai’i Community Foundation for their support of this incredible program… As threats to our ability to express ourselves freely mount, support from these partnerships are more than symbolic acts of solidarity, but rather a vitally important catalyzing tool enabling artists to use their stories and perspectives to help us all re-envision our worlds and build more pono and equitable futures.”
Kristan Kennedy is a Portland-based artist, curator, and educator. Kennedy is the Artistic Director and Curator of Visual Art at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA). For the last decade, Kennedy has focused on commissioning new work by international emerging artists in the form of large-scale, site-specific installations and solo projects that exist at the borders of genres. Kennedy takes an expansive view of visual art and also organizes music, performance art, publications, social engagement and new media projects as part of PICA’s year-round programming and for the organization’s annual Time-Based Art Festival. Kennedy serves on the board of the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts and teaches Contemporary Art and Critical Thinking at the Pacific Northwest College of Art as part of their MFA in Visual Studies department.
“...I was struck by the deep generosity and meaningful exchange that occurred when considering each of the applicants' work. I am grateful to everyone at Puʻuhonua Society, to my fellow panelists, and to the artists for their extraordinarily thoughtful process which values community over competition and a deep connectedness to place.”
Marques Hanalei Marzan is a Hawaiian and Oceanic fibers culture bearer and contemporary visual artist born and raised in Kāne‘ohe, Hawaiʻi. Acknowledged as a skilled practitioner within his community, Hanalei serves as mentor and advocate for perpetuating Hawaiian fiber techniques and instilling indigenous values in his students. Hanalei is the current Pu’uhonua Society Board President and as the Cultural Advisor at Bishop Museum in Honolulu, he promotes the integration of indigenous mindsets and practices and recognizes the need to legitimize indigenous voices within the Museum field.
“I am overjoyed knowing that so many people are doing amazing things for Hawai‘i and our collective history and that Ho‘ākea Source has the ability to support these efforts in our community.”