In June 2024, the Hōkūle’a embarked 
on its 15th major voyage
since the official launch almost 50 years ago. 

It’s a four-year voyage which is called Moananuiākea.
“This is our most difficult voyage yet because the destination is not ours. 
“A Voyage for Oceans, A Voyage for Earth”
Polynesian Voyaging Society 
The artwork by Jeanne Bitz presented in 
the following video
is a celebration of this journey. 

A collaborative journey between the artist Jeanne Bitz and the Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Voyaging Society, part of a program for many years where artists are asked to create works of art with someone from the community. This collaboration is exceptional in its content and relevance to the Hawaiian culture.

A story of epic adventures, adopted families, and overcoming monumental challenges, told in my interpretation of Polynesian pictograms.

Three women go on a pandemic-motivated online quest for creative collaboration. Will they be able to create an art piece while far away from each other?
“We instantly resonated with each other around a startling observation: nature was responding to the change of pace the lockdown imposed on humans – and her message was (and is) one of healing. This piece is our celebration of her response. Yet it asks: and now? Are you still listening?”
Beth painted “Her”, Mariabruna wrote the poem, Shelley created the vessels. Nature put in our hands pieces of “Her” that fit organically into the piece. Some asked for decoration, like the leaves; others, like the kelp, only wished to be draped. They are a statement of the interconnection that unites us all, and our only hope for healing.

The palila is a small yellow and grey honeycreeper endemic to Hawai’i. It is critically endangered. Between 500 and 1500 individuals are left in the world, all of them on the slopes of Mauna Kea.

A collaboration between artist Jeanne Bitz Young and Kumu Kimokeo Kapalulehua, leader of the Hawaiian Outrigger Voyaging Canoe Society dedicated to preserve and perpetuate the Native Hawaiian culture and its tradition.

Betty Hay Freeland with Dr. Scott Fisher. Waihee Refuge is a 277 acre property owned by the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. The Waihee site is deep in history with Hawaiian archaeological sites and structures from the plantation era. HILT bought the property in 2004 to preserve the archaeological sites, restore the native plants and animals, and outdoor recreation for locals

Melissa Chimera with Gene Dumaran (her uncle).  This project celebrates her Filipino heritage and the Pu’unene HC&S sugar mill where her grandmother’s family worked on Maui.

Michael Clements with Maui County Council member Gladys Baisa.  Many people in her family have been influenced both socially and economically by the Sugar Industry over the years and by it’s eminent demise.

Betty Hay Freeland  with Scott Fisher, Director of Conservation, Hawaiian Island Land Trust.  Interested in portraying landscape with a history that the public isn’t aware of.  Nu’u, in Maui’s south east Kaupo district, is a wahi pana, a place of myths, legends and stories.

Carmen Gardner with Brian Sato.  Fostering awareness of the historical and cultural significance of the island of Kaho’olawe.

Joelle C. with Timothy Paulokaleioku Bailey
Creating art that relates to the concept of the “Aha Moku system.” Together with the Kumulipo, the Aha Moku system provides the best guidance for caring for the land and resources.

Gwen Arkin with Olin Erikson – head gardener with The Merwin Conservancy.  Both of eager to explore the combination of the organic matter in seeds, fruits and flowers (the natural source) with the organic matter in photographic emulsions (a chemical source).

Denby Freeland-Cole with Anna Dodd and her family at Ola Mau Farms.  Exploring the varieties of taro they have been growing deepening her awareness of taro and expanding her knowledge of dyes from Hawaiian plants.

Terry Lopez with Judy Bisgard and physicist Dr. Garret Lisi.  The challenge for us was to create an art piece that juxtaposes the organic world with the mathematical one.

Karuna Santoro with Rich von Wellsheim from Whispering Winds Bamboo in Kipahulu. This piece represents the many connections we all have with people and things around us, the threads that bind and hold us together.

“They said that she was pure of heart, and that all living things, both innocent and wild, felt safe in her presence. The children of the village chose her to be their queen for she was the one they trusted above all others. “Be kind,” she said. “Take care of the earth and of each other.” And so they did.

Mary Ann Leigh and Ted Loberg.  Collaborating on these art pieces present an opportunity to share in creating one concept by taking two materials and approaching the work from opposite directions.

Tim Garcia with the Lama Gyaltsen (at the stupa) and Lori Koprowski.  Walking The Stupa – A collaboration, a journey, a transition.

Suzy Papanikolas with Richard Tillinghast, award-winning poet and travel writer, and calligrapher Linda Jenson.  The approaches taken allude to Asian art, and the result is of dancers, chanters and musicians from Hawai’i’s hula culture, traditional and modern at the same time.

Jim Powlan with Steve Gera.  The art pieces represent the harmony of man and nature.  We are using new techniques never tried before – blending etched & inked copper with paint and clear coating, mounted onto hand built wood forms finished in Koa.

A selected group of artists has been invited to collaborate and create some unique works of art. They were free to choose to work with anyone they wanted to… artist or not! One partner or several… The project is focusing on the process leading to the creation as well as to the completion of the artwork. With the help of coaches and researchers in the field of relationships, the participating artists have been led through inspiring processes to enhance their capacity to relate on a deeper level: to themselves, their artistry, their creative partners and the endless possibilities that may arise from this exploration.

Artists creating and exploring the possibilities arising from collaborating with family members who are videographers and contractors, or one’s own child, or working with a couple of students from Paris and New York, then a healer or a well-known biologist whose work focuses on preserving the native environment, a local architect interested in the history of local Hawaiian architecture, and finally with a poet exploring the deeper meaning of the “Aloha Spirit”…