Sunday, April 5 from 2-4 p.m. in the 1st Floor Studio 1C Gallery. FREE and open to the public, donations welcomed!

Every First Sunday of the month, DAC and Guitar Foundation of Hawaii, led by veteran music coordinator and musician Terry Oyama, team up to host live music by different local bands and musicians. April’s featured performers are the Chris Vandercook Band, with Mitch Fukumoto, David Ogata, and Mundo Canto playing contemporary blues guitar. Refreshments available from the DAC donation bar.

Saturday, April 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Save the date for our next HEART of Honolulu Street Festival! We invite artists and arts organizations to take to the streets, as we shut down Nuuanu Avenue in Chinatown and open it to pedestrian traffic for everyone to experience and enjoy the HEART of the Chinatown Arts District, including art, live music, food, creative local vendors, performances and more.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

-Saturday, April 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

-Saturday, May 16 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Meeting Place: Downtown Art Center, 1041 Nuuanu Ave (Chinatown Gateway Plaza building) Second Floor Main Gallery/Lobby

$20 per person, limit 20 people per tour.

Downtown Art Center (DAC) offers a unique way to experience the historical and artistic heritage of the HEART district of downtown Honolulu with this walking tour, led by Historian Gary R. Coover, author of "Pocket Walking Tour of Honolulu's Royal Mile,” and veteran artist and educator Susan Hogan.

On View in the Main Gallery May 1-29, 2026

First Friday Opening Reception: May 1 from 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Curated by Tom Klobe, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Art Department professor emeritus, founding director of the University of Hawaiʻi Art Gallery, and Artists of Hawaiʻi Biennial 2024 juror, this important exhibition features renowned Hawaiʻi artists who have, throughout their lives, pushed beyond all borders. In other words, they have danced on the edge of the witches' cauldron, balancing between the fire on one side and the boiling stew on the other. There will be five artists in the exhibition: Fred Roster, Pat Hickman, Allyn Bromley, Sally French, and Linda Kane. 

Mahalo to sponsor Sharon Twigg-Smith for her generous support of this exhibition.

Our curated first floor retail shop is a showcase gallery where local artists can sell their artwork, and visitors can buy unique gifts created by Hawaiʻi artists.

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Our Vacant to Vibrant project aims to prove that Downtown/Chinatown Honolulu’s vacant spaces can come alive again, as valuable hubs of art, creativity, and community involvement.

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Our initiative to beautify Downtown/Chinatown Honolulu through the power of the arts employs artists to create colorful, fun, photogenic, and uplifting public art pieces that the community can enjoy.

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HEART is an acronymn that stands for Heritage, Entertainment, Arts & culture, Restaurants, and Theatre & Performing Arts. Together, these elements make up the core of our vibrant creative community, and are the focus of our annual HEART of Honolulu arts festival on Nuuanu Avenue each April.

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