DOWNTOWN ART CENTER
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
Current Main Gallery Exhibition
Wondrous Light: Aurora Borealis
Presented by Hawaii Handweavers Hui & The Glass Fusion Collective
On View July 9-26, 2025
This July, DAC welcomes a wondrous collaborative exhibition by Hawaii Handweavers Hui and The Glass Fusion Collective: "Wondrous Light: Aurora Borealis" will be on view in DAC's Main Gallery July 9-26 and at Wailoa Center in Hilo September 5-26.
This year’s exhibition of glass and textile work invites artists to explore the myriad facets of the Aurora Borealis. Let your creativity soar, drawing inspiration from the science, the spectacle, the personal, the cultural, and the mythical.
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.
Upcoming Events & Exhibitions
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Hawaii Youth Symphony feat. Pacific Music Institute's Jazz Intensive
Thursday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the downstairs Studio 1C. FREE and open to the public - walk-ins welcome!
We welcome the young musicians and music community leaders of Hawaii Youth Symphony back to DAC, as part of their Pacific Music Institute’s Jazz Intensive. After a week of honing their skills in jazz theory, improvisation, and ensemble playing, these rising talents will showcase their hard work alongside local legend Dean Taba and Seattle-based saxophonist Steve Treseler.
Find out more about Hawaii Youth Symphony at hiyouthsymphony.org.
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Bamboo Ridge Press Presents: A Book Release for "Blood Work and Other Stories"
Saturday, July 12 from 1-3 p.m. in the 1st Floor Studio 1C
DAC welcomes Bamboo Ridge Press author Donald Carreira Ching and friends for his book launch celebration and a special reading of his new book, "Blood Work and Other Stories"!
Born and raised in Kahaluu, Oahu, Carreira Ching brings us 17 powerful stories set in a Hawaiʻi rarely seen—where love, land, and identity are challenged by hardship and change. Raw, emotional, and beautifully written, this collection is a must-read for fans of local lit and powerful storytelling. This event is FREE and open to the public.
Mahalo to Bamboo Ridge Press for supporting this event! For more of their events, visit bambooridge.org/events.
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DAC Storytelling Night: “The Favorite Foreign Concubine”with Special Guest Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak
Saturday, July 19 from 6-7:30 p.m., $10 per person.
At July's very special Storytelling Night, retired UH professor and director of Asian theatre Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak shares stories from her remarkable life, including her childhood dancing in Burma, becoming the first non-Chinese person to perform Jingju traditional opera in China, and translating and directing Jingju plays at UH Mānoa.
This show is part of a monthly storytelling series at DAC.
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DAC Wellness Workshop: Jump for JOY!
Sunday, July 20, from 2-4:30 p.m. FREE RSVP, Optional $10 materials donation at the door.
Move, connect, and play with us, at this workshop focused on joyful movement! Rediscover your inner child with hopscotch and other classic playground games that celebrate agility, balance, and fun—no hopping required. Whether you’re skipping, stepping, or simply smiling, you’ll enjoy this lighthearted workout for body and mind.
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Upcoming Exhibition: 2025 Hawaii Watercolor Society Open Exhibit
On view in the Main Gallery, July 29 - August 23, 2025
This exhibition will feature 62 gorgeous water media paintings by 51 artists, selected by juror Gary Tucker.
A free demonstration by the juror will take place on Sunday, July 27, from 2-4 p.m. at DAC, with the exhibition's Opening Reception scheduled for Friday, August 1, from 5-8 p.m.
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Awesome August
August 1-31, 2025 at DAC
A series of awesome events at DAC—including live music, art workshops, theatre, artist meet & greets and more—celebrating the power of friendship and creativity. Stay tuned for a lineup of events and
fun activities!
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.