Special friends of the arts were treated to a memorable evening showcasing artistic expression and collaboration among the UH Mānoa Art, Music and Dance programs.
Evening highlights included live music by guitarist Ian O'Sullivan, artistic director of the UHM Guitar Series; Shakuhachi player music graduate student Chris Molina and electronic music composed for the event by Professor Takuma Itoh.
A sake tasting was offered with ceramic sake cups made for the guests by the ceramics students. Guests were invited to choose one of the creations to take home with them.
Guests enjoyed perusing the visiting exhibition IMAYŌ: JAPAN’S NEW TRADITIONISTS. Initiated and curated by Professor John Szostak, this art exhibition demonstrates that the past is alive and with us. This contemporary exhibit was brought from Japan. It is being shown in collaboration with the Honolulu Museum of Art. Both the UH Mānoa Art Gallery and the Honolulu Museum of Art will exhibit a portion of the complete exhibit through the end of the year. Then it will travel to Shoto Museum of Art in Tokyo in April 2017.
Creative ingenuity and the collaborative synergy of the three UH Mānoa departments was on full display. The Abstract Dance was choreographed by the chair of theatre and dance, Betsy Fisher. Guests were led in silence by the student dancers to move among the bamboo courtyard as part of the performance.
The evening was sponsored by the College of Arts & Humanities; UHM Partnership for the Arts - A Collaboration for the benefit of the Arts; and the Hazel Tominaga Tsutsui Theodore Endowed Fund for the Arts. Additional supporters of the event included Keith and Janet Sung, owners of the Honolulu Cookie Company and Konrad Ng, the executive director of Doris Duke's Shangri La.
