The Final Countdown: 2019 Honolulu Biennial

Your family's last chance for free admission to Hawaiʻi's largest arts festival.

Can you believe it’s been eight weeks since the start of the 2019 Honolulu Biennial? If you have not been to this festival yet—featuring works by international artists—may we suggest you visit the Biennial’s headquarters, dubbed “The Hub,” this Sunday, May 5? From 2 to 4 p.m., keiki can view the installations and create their own art using earth-friendly products.

Admission is FREE for children. Adults ages 18 and older pay between $7 and $10 each at the entrance. Since you can’t leave your kids at the door like a drop-off birthday party, you might as well join them.

The artwork is inspiring. You won’t be disappointed. Parking also is free at The Hub, located in the ground-floor space previously occupied by Famous Footwear at Ward Centre, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd.

Our 5 Tips For Navigating The Hub With Your Family:

1. Play It Safe. At The Hub, some art can be provocative and inappropriate for young minds (explicit words on a giant screen, for example). Here are four installations that are kid-friendly.

• Chiharu Shiota’s installation titled Crossroads is on your left as you enter The Hub. It’s made of wool yarn and is fun to walk through.
• Toy Stories by Makai’i Tubbs at the back of The Hub is like eye candy for kids. Each sculpture is made from old toys, trash and bottle shards. My daughter and her friends admired the sculptures for nearly 15 minutes.
• The Womb Room by ARCH Hawaiʻi is a quiet nook where kids can practice the art of sitting still. Walking into the room via a red tunnel already is an adventure for families.
• Teens and tweens might like The Collection of Jane Ryan and William Saunders, which are   3-D replicas of the extravagant jewelry owned by Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines. Each bauble has its own outrageous price tag and can teach kids about poverty vs extreme wealth, greed vs giving, you get the idea.

2. Know Your Bathrooms. At HONOLULU Family, we’re always pointing out the nearest potty so you’re ready when your kid’s gotta go. At The Hub, you’ll find bathrooms next to Taste Tea (former Mocha Java) and next to Auahi Street outside of Bed Bath & Beyond.

3. Do Not Dress To the Nines. The Art Explorium’s staff will provide recycled items, glue, paint and other materials that your little artist will use on Sunday. Have your children wear clothes that can get messy. Or bring a large old T-shirt to cover their clothes.

4. Play With Photos. After your keiki finish their projects, take photos of them holding their masterpieces. When the 2021 Honolulu Biennial returns in two years, it’ll be fun for your family to look back at those cute photos—and see how your kids’ art skills have flourished! Another suggestion: Take photos of their favorite installations at The Hub. My art-loving daughter still talks about the 2017 Honolulu Biennial’s “polka-dot room” by Yayoi Kusama in the IBM Building. And that was years ago! What triggers her happy memories today are photos of our family playing inside Kusama’s neon-colored room.

5. View The Book. The 2019 Honolulu Biennial ends this Sunday, so you still have a few days left to visit other exhibition sites, including Foster Botanical Garden, Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaiʻi State Art Museum and Bishop Museum. Some sites charge a small fee for admission. Click on this online guidebook to read about the artwork at each location.

The Hub at the 2019 Honolulu Biennial is located at Ward Center (in the space previously occupied by Famous Footwear), 1200 Ala Moana Blvd. The keiki workshop is free and from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, May 5. Admission is between $7 and $10 each for adults ages 18 and older.  honolulubiennial.org