DOWNTOWN ART CENTER
1041 Nuʻuanu Ave
Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Second Floor Gallery Hours: Tues-Sun 11 AM to 5 PM
DAC Art & Gifts Shop Hours: Tues-Sat 11 AM to 5 PM
Upcoming Main Gallery Exhibition
The Art of Furniture Making
On View December 5-20, 2025
First Friday Opening Reception: Friday, December 5 from 5:30 - 8 p.m.
Organized by Hawaiian Fine Furniture’s Doug Gordon, this exhibition will feature a selection of hand-crafted fine furniture pieces. Showcasing both traditional and contemporary approaches to woodworking, the collection includes chairs, tables, and functional accessories created by several of Hawaiʻi’s most accomplished furniture makers and wood artists.
Throughout the exhibition, artists will offer informal talks and live demonstrations, providing insight into their creative processes, techniques, and materials.
Current Courtyard Gallery Exhibition
Kintsugi Joy: New Paintings by Lauren Okano
November 18 - December 20, 2025
First Friday Artist's Reception: Friday, December 5 from 5:30 - 8 p.m.
DAC Art & Gifts Shop is proud to feature new paintings by renowned local artist Lauren Okano in “Kintsugi Joy”
“In this series, the act of painting becomes its own repair - a conversation between fracture and grace” says Okano. “Inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, where broken vessels are restored with gold, these works honor the beauty of what endures. Each brushstroke carries both the mark of what was lost and the shimmer of what has been found. Joy, in the end, is the seam that holds it all together - quiet, resilient, and luminous. Through paint, gesture and rhythm, I return to wholeness again and again.”
Joined by:
Honolulu Kupuna Shed Holiday Sale
Friday through Sunday, December 5-7 and December 12-14, 2025
Members of the nonprofit Honolulu Kupuna Shed will have beautiful woodwork and handmade crafts for sale in the DAC Courtyard Gallery this holiday season on two weekends. Hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 5-7 and 12-14 will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Find bowls, cutting boards, Christmas trees, jewelry, toys, and more—all made by our local kūpuna from sustainably sourced local woods like koa, mango, and lychee.
Current Classroom Exhibition
The 2025 DAC Instructor Show
On View November 7 - December 20, 2025
Downtown Art Center is proud to present a showcase of our amazing arts instructors! This exhibition is open to current DAC Art/Workshop instructors who teach our casual or fine arts classes and workshops.
Current Studio 1C Exhibition
WAG/AHA Holiday Art Fair
On View December 2-20, 2025
First Friday Reception on Friday, December 5, from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
The Windward Artists Guild and the Association of Hawaii Artists (AHA) invite you to discover their annual Holiday Art Fair! Find unique, locally made original art, ornaments, prints, gicleé, and more, and solve your gifting dilemmas all in one place!
Upcoming Events & Exhibitions
-
Honolulu Kupuna Shed Holiday Sale
December 5-14, 2025 in the Courtyard Gallery
Members of the nonprofit Honolulu Kupuna Shed will have beautiful woodwork and handmade crafts for sale in the DAC Courtyard Gallery this holiday season. -
Quirky Crafters Winter Mini Charity Craft Show
Sunday, December 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 2nd Floor DAC Classroom
Each year, the local artisans from Quirky Crafters throw a great holiday sale with art and handmade gifts, with a portion of the proceeds going to local charities.
-
Call to Artists: Contemporary Photography in Hawai‘i 2026
Submission Deadline: December 12, 2025
On View: February 12 - 28, 2026Photography submissions are open NOW for Pacific New Media’s “Contemporary Photography in Hawaii 2026.” This juried exhibition is open to all photographers living in Hawai‘i and requires that individual images be original, created within the past three years, and not previously publicly exhibited in Hawai‘i (except on your own website or social media); that portfolio submissions consist of original work created within the past five years, centered on a theme.
-
DAC Walking Tour: Art, History & Architecture in the HEART of Honolulu
Upcoming Tour Dates:
-Saturday, December 13 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Join historian Gary R. Coover, author of "Pocket Walking Tour of Honolulu's Royal Mile," and veteran artist/educator Susan Hogan for a lively 1.5–2 hour walk through the HEART of Downtown Honolulu. Discover the layered history, culture, and architecture of the district, explore pivotal sites and public artworks, and take home a complimentary copy of Gary’s book!Meeting Place: Downtown Art Center, 1041 Nuuanu Ave, Studio 1C (Chinatown Gateway Plaza building level 1)
$25 per person, limit 20 people per tour.
-
Raise Your Voice Holiday Concert with James McCarthy: A Joyful Noise!
Saturday, December 13 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
2nd Floor DAC Classroom
$10 per person, online or at the doorJoin us for this holiday edition of Raise Your Voice, featuring songs curated by veteran Honolulu musician James B. McCarthy from his archive of winter holiday tunes and tales—each selected to celebrate the comfort, joy, and magic of the season. We’ll set the mood with a warm, candlelit atmosphere, perfect for spending an evening together lifting our spirits.
-
U.S. Roadshow FREE Inami Woodcarving Presentation and Demonstration by Master Nambu Hakuun III
Sunday, December 14 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the 2nd Floor DAC Classroom. FREE and open to the public!
Experience the 250-year tradition of Inami woodcarving with Master Carver Nambu Hakuun III during a live presentation and demonstration at DAC! As part of the Inami Woodcarving U.S. Roadshow, this program highlights the history, techniques, and spiritual artistry of this endangered craft, offering attendees the rare chance to observe each stage of the carving process and try carving by hand under the master’s guidance. The event concludes with a Q&A and is presented in partnership with Poiesis, an organization dedicated to preserving traditional decorative arts. -
Architects as Artists 2026
January 22 - February 27, 2026 in the Main Gallery
First Friday Artistsʻ Reception: Friday, February 6 from 5:30 - 8 p.m.
Now in its fourth installment, Architects as Artists invites architects, architecture students, and professionals in architecture-related fields across Hawai‘i to showcase their creative work and share the inspirations behind it. The exhibition aims to deepen public appreciation for the artistry within the architectural community and its impact on Downtown Honolulu.
DAC Special Projects & Community Support
-
DAC Art & Gifts Retail Shop
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.
-
Vacant to Vibrant
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.
-
Public Art WORKS!
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.
-
HEART of Honolulu Street Festivals
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.