Honolulu, Hawaii
Welcome to Downtown Art Center!
Second Floor Gallery Hours: Tues-Sun 11 AM to 5 PM
DAC Art & Gifts Shop Hours: Tues-Sat 11 AM to 5 PM
Current Main Gallery Exhibition
HANA NOʻEAU: New Takes on Traditional Hawaiian Media
On view June 6-28, 2025
First Friday Opening Reception on Friday, June 6 from 5:30 - 8 p.m.
Downtown Art Center is proud to present HANA NOʻEAU: New Takes on Traditional Hawaiian Media, a powerful new exhibition celebrating the enduring strength and evolving expression of Hawaiian cultural media. This show highlights the work of contemporary Hawaiian visual artists and craftspeople who are reinterpreting traditional art forms through a modern lens.
The exhibition features a wide range of media, including woodcarving, fiber art, weaving, kapa making, and feather lei making. Each piece reflects a deep connection to Hawaiian traditions, while embracing innovation and individual artistic voice. Participating featured artists are: Makana Kāne Kuahiwinui, Nanea Lum, Marques Hanalei Marzan, Michael Kalanikini Nahoʻopiʻi, Andre Perez, Enoka O Laʻi Phillips, William "Miki" Cook, and kiʻi carving collective Hui Kalai Kiʻi O Kupaʻaikeʻe.
Current Classroom Exhibition
Art Is… A Community’s Voice at The Capitol
On View in the DAC Classroom, June 2-29, 2025
This series of posters was created in spring 2025 as part of a community-driven project led by the Hawai‘i Arts Alliance in response to a pivotal moment for the arts in Hawai‘i.
As lawmakers prepared to celebrate Art at the Capitol Day, conversations behind the scenes revealed efforts to weaken the Works of Art Special Fund—Hawai‘i’s landmark public funding program that has supported artists, educators, and cultural organizations for decades. In the face of this contradiction, the arts community sought a way to show up with both aloha and conviction. With the help of two remarkable cultural leaders, Maile Meyer and Meleanna Meyer, the Alliance invited the community to gather at Native Books in Chinatown for a sign-making activity. The prompt was simple yet powerful: “Art is…” From there, community members filled thought bubbles with their own expressions—“Art is resistance,” “Art is freedom,” “Art is essential. Keep it funded!”
The resulting posters were carried to the Hawai‘i State Capitol for Art at the Capitol Day on Friday, April 11, 2025—a peaceful but powerful demonstration of unity, purpose, and love for the arts. This moment allowed artists, educators, and advocates to come together in creative resistance, reminding decision-makers why the arts matter so deeply to our communities.
Now on display, these posters reflect the diverse and heartfelt perspectives of Hawai‘i’s people. They are a visual affirmation of what we stand to lose—and why we must continue to stand together.
Current Studio 1C Gallery Exhibition
DAC Art & Gifts Shop Presents: SERGIO GARZON
On View in Studio 1C May 2 - 30, 2025
Sergio Garzon is a Honolulu-based artist whose work bridges studio practice, public engagement, and cultural storytelling. He is the project coordinator of PRINT BIGGER, a community-driven event that brings large-scale woodblock printing directly into the streets. Using a pavement roller to print monumental blocks up to 750 square feet, the project invites families and passersby to take part in hands-on artmaking, such as T-shirt printing and collaborative workshops with local artists.
Through PRINT BIGGER, Sergio aims to dissolve barriers between the studio, gallery, and public space—using printmaking as a tool to spark dialogue around contemporary public art, community expression, and the living legacy of Hawaiian myth and culture.
In addition to his public art projects, Sergio is an active plein air painter, capturing the landscapes of Hawai‘i with sensitivity and presence. He currently lives and works in Chinatown, Honolulu.
This solo exhibition is a collection of three more recent larger works on gator board that have been inspired by Sergio’s sketchbooks.
Upcoming Events & Exhibitions
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Upcoming Exhibition: Hana Noʻeau: New Takes on Traditional Hawaiian Media
On View in the Main Gallery June 6-28
Downtown Art Center is proud to present HANA NOʻEAU: New Takes on Traditional Hawaiian Media, an exhibition which highlights the work of contemporary Hawaiian visual artists and craftspeople who are reinterpreting traditional art forms through a modern lens.
The exhibition features a wide range of media, including woodcarving, fiber art, weaving, kapa making, and feather lei making. Participating featured artists are: Makana Kane Kuahiwinui, Nanea Lum, Marques Hanalei Marzan, Michael Kalanikini Nahoʻopiʻi, Andre Perez, Enoka O Laʻi Phillips, William "Miki" Cook, and kiʻi carving collective Hui Kalai Kiʻi O Kupaʻaikeʻe.
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DAC Walking Tour: Art, History & Architecture in the HEART of Honolulu
Join historian Gary R. Coover and artist/educator Susan Hogan for a 1.5–2 hour guided walking tour through the HEART district, exploring the cultural, historical, and artistic heritage of downtown Honolulu. Highlights include significant landmarks, public artworks, and rich storytelling. Includes a free copy of Gary’s book Pocket Walking Tour of Honolulu's Royal Mile.
June 21 & July 19, 3–5 p.m.
Meeting Point: DAC Art & Gifts Shop, 1041 Nuuanu Ave (Chinatown Gateway Plaza)
Cost: $25 per person (max 20 participants)
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DAC Storytelling Night with Special Guest George Tanabe
Saturday, June 21 from 6-7:30 p.m., $10 per person.
Join GEORGE TANABE for “In the Footsteps of Uncle Primo” at this month's Storytelling Night!
George will share stories about his uncle, who served in the 100th Battalion during WWII. “He would get drunk on Primo beer and relive his war experiences.” When George’s grandsons were growing up, they experienced those memories through the “Uncle Primo” stories he told them.
George is a retired professor of religion at UH and published historian, and has spent his career exploring the intersection of fact and fiction in global religious literature.
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DAC Wellness Workshop: Learn to Weave A Medicine Pouch
Sunday, June 22 from 2-4:30 p.m.
$10 per person, limit 12 people.Learn the basics of weaving as you create your own personal medicine pouch. Use a variety of fibers and natural materials while exploring a fundamental weaving style, from start to finish.
Materials and refreshments provided.
DAC Special Projects & Community Action
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Vacant to Vibrant
Downtown Honolulu and its historic Chinatown Arts District are in trouble. Once the vital heart of the Pacific business community, multiple circumstances, including economic downturns and the COVID pandemic, has changed a once-vibrant area into a struggling historic arts, entertainment, and restaurant district with blocks of abandoned real estate and rising crime and vandalism.
However, with change comes opportunity. The time is right to start the conversation about how Downtown Honolulu and the Chinatown Arts District can be transformed into a vibrant community that attracts both locals and visitors alike. Downtown Art Center’s Vacant to Vibrant project, with several phases planned, aims to prove that these vacant spaces can come alive again, as valuable hubs of art, creativity, and community involvement.
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Public Art WORKS!
The objective of DAC’s telephone kiosk painting project was to beautify Chinatown’s Fort Street Mall area by transforming its five obsolete, damaged telephone kiosks into works of art. The selected designs, by local artists Su Shen Atta, Yvonne Manipon, Sergio Garzon, Kahi Ching, and Charles Valoroso, are simple, colorful, fun, photogenic, and uplifting. The painting started on Saturday, October 22 and covered five telephone kiosks stretching the length of Fort Street Mall, from Beretania to Merchant Streets.
Find out more about this and other DAC initiatives to put art in public places!
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HEART of Honolulu Street Festivals
Celebrate the arts, culture, and good food as you walk, shop, and eat your way around the Chinatown Arts District. Downtown Art Center is proud to present the HEART of Honolulu Street Festival, a family-friendly, daytime art festival that closes Nuʻuanu Avenue, from King Street to Chaplain Lane, to showcase local art, live local music, food, crafts, and more. The last festival took place on Saturday, October 8, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. - stay tuned for the next street festival in April 2023!
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.
Visit Us
1041 Nu’uanu Ave. Honolulu HI 96817
Exhibition Gallery Hours (2025):
Tues-Sun
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
First Friday Hours:
5:30 - 8 p.m. every First Friday of the month!
Downstairs DAC Art & Gifts Shop Hours:
Tues-Sat
11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Phone
(808) 773-7339
PARKING INFORMATION
Parking for DAC is located at nearby municipal parking lots (onsite at Chinatown Gateway Plaza, parking entrance off Bethel Street) or at Mark's Garage (entrance at 22 S. Pauahi St.). On-site parking is by credit card only, and costs $0.75/half hour, with no grace period.
DAC is easily accessible by public transit as well; get directions, routes and timetables at www.thebus.org.