Hoʻākea Source 2025 Grant Awardees
Colleen Kimura
Nā Leo o Kapa
Avalon Paradea
OUR JOY iS SACRED
Lani Punani
Babaeng Babae Na
Hercules Goss-Kuehn
The Renkon Project
Noe Tanigawa
I OLA KANALOA
Davianna McGregor & Craig Neff
Nā Leo o Kapa
Avalon Paradea2025 Grant Recipient
For thousands of years, kapa was the cherished fabric of Hawaiʻi. Crafted from the inner fibers of the wauke tree, it has long been used for purposes such as attire, bedding, protecting ʻiwi, and in ceremony. During the Hawaiian Renaissance, kapa was revived through the passionate research and experimentation of ʻŌiwi practitioners, including Puanani Van Dorpe, Malia Solomon, and Marie McDonald. Today, the kapa community continues to expand across the pae ʻāina. Nā Leo o Kapa explores the stories of cherished kapa makers and the pilina they share with self, ʻāina, and community. Through a combination of oral history and visual art, their voices will be celebrated and memorialized into an illustrated zine for folks of all ages to enjoy.
Avalon Paradea is a queer, ʻāina-based creative raised in Waikōloa, Kohala Hema. Their love for nature is palpable in their works, which regularly incorporate handmade kapa, local plant dyes, and earth pigments. Through visual and written works alike, Avalon explores myriad themes including ancestral (re)connections, emotional and physical grief/ healing, demilitarization, and the reignition of ʻŌiwi and other Indigenous knowledge systems. With backgrounds in anthropology, oral history, and environmental stewardship, Avalon believes that the pilina our community builds with place is one of the most powerful forces imaginable. Avalon is passionate about collective learning and helping others explore their relationships with self and kaiāulu, human and otherwise.
Avalon Paradea is a queer, ʻāina-based creative raised in Waikōloa, Kohala Hema. Their love for nature is palpable in their works, which regularly incorporate handmade kapa, local plant dyes, and earth pigments. Through visual and written works alike, Avalon explores myriad themes including ancestral (re)connections, emotional and physical grief/ healing, demilitarization, and the reignition of ʻŌiwi and other Indigenous knowledge systems. With backgrounds in anthropology, oral history, and environmental stewardship, Avalon believes that the pilina our community builds with place is one of the most powerful forces imaginable. Avalon is passionate about collective learning and helping others explore their relationships with self and kaiāulu, human and otherwise.