Bishop Museum Announces Opening Weekend of The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu

# Bishop Museum Announces Opening Weekend of The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu

New, original exhibition explores the hidden history and contemporary meanings of four large pōhaku (stones) on Waikīkī Beach, through Hawaiian understandings of gender, healing, and inclusion.

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum announces the full schedule for the Opening Weekend of its new, original exhibition, The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu, which opens to the general public on Saturday, June 18, 2022 in the Museum's Castle Memorial Building.

The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu explores the history and contemporary meanings of four large pōhaku (stones) on Waikīkī Beach. These pōhaku were placed long ago as a tribute to four māhū, people of dual male and female spirit, who brought healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi. Although the stones have survived for centuries, the story behind them has been suppressed and the respected role of māhū erased. Using immersive media and innovative storytelling approaches, the exhibition revitalizes this traditional story to help restore this sacred site as a permanent reminder of Hawaiʻi's history of inclusion and acceptance.

The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu will be a multifaceted exhibition that combines film, art, archival documents, and images, storytelling, and other interactive elements, sharing that for Hawaiian history and culture to be understood and appreciated, it must be seen from a Hawaiian perspective. In the case of Kapaemahu, this perspective centers gender duality, erased from a beloved moʻolelo (story) over time by foreign influences, as a natural and respected aspect of the human experience and a central element of the science of healing.

"Our source for the definition of the term 'Kapaemahu' is Mary Kawena Pukui, the leading Hawaiian scholar of the 20th century who worked at Bishop Museum for much of her life. She gives this definition in the book she co-wrote, 'Hawaiian Place Names,'" said DeSoto Brown, Bishop Museum historian and curator of archives, and exhibition lead curator. "In presenting the original moʻolelo from 500 or more years ago, and examining the ways in which it, and the monument erected to honor its heroes, were altered in the 20th century, the The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu challenges visitors to ponder how other aspects of Hawaiian history and culture might have been suppressed, changed, or lost. More importantly, visitors will understand that these aspects of Hawaiian culture now have the opportunity to be restored and elevated."

Highlights of the exhibition include:

• Kapaemahu, the Animated ExperienceAn immersive theatrical experience of the eight-minute animated film, Kapaemahu, produced and directed by exhibition co-curators Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu.
• Large-scale three-dimensional artistic renderings of the four pōhaku that constitute the cultural site of Kapaemahu.
• Experiential TimelineAn extensive multimedia presentation incorporating historical texts and audiovisual materials, spanning the time from the stones' geological creation to the present day.
• Bishop Museum Cultural and Archival CollectionsCollection items selected for this exhibition speak to the integral role healing practices originally played at all levels of Kānaka Maoli life, and how these became less prevalent through time due to foreign influences. Several key historical figures who contributed to the transmission of the Kapaemahu story over time will be shown, in addition to an extensive array of photographs and historic film clips illustrating the dramatic changes to the Waikīkī district where the stones themselves are still seen today.
• Portraits of Gender Diversity in the PacificA photo and video collage of Pacific Islanders self-representing their gender identities and other cultural heritages. This social media-driven component is collected and organized by Qwaves, LLC.
• The Glade NightclubOne room of the exhibition is a salute to a famed Honolulu gathering place and nightspot of the 1960s and '70s, where māhū performers could openly be themselves as well as earn a paycheck. The Glade show club functioned as a safe space in the face of hostility and legal prosecution from the rest of the world.

The full schedule for the Opening Weekend of The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu includes:

• Media-Only Preview: The Healer Stones of KapaemahuThursday, June 16, 20221–4 p.m.Castle Memorial BuildingPlease RSVP with Lance Aquino via the contact information aboveBishop Museum invites members of the news media to attend an exclusive, pre-opening, closed-door Media Preview of its upcoming exhibition.Interview opportunities:
  • Bishop Museum Vice President of Public Programs, Brandon Bunag
  • Exhibition Lead Curator DeSoto Brown, Bishop Museum Historian and Curator of the Archives
  • Exhibition Curator Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Kanaka Pakipika, Cultural Expert
  • Exhibition Curator Dean Hamer, Kanaka Pakipika/Qwaves, Lead Researcher
  • Exhibition Curator Joe Wilson, Kanaka Pakipika/Qwaves, Producer/Director
  • Exhibition Designer, Michael Wilson
• "The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu" Premiere In-person Film ScreeningFriday, June 17, 20225:30–9 p.m.Great Lawn (film) and Castle Memorial Building (exhibition)In partnership with film directors and exhibit co-curators Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, and Joe Wilson, Bishop Museum presents an in-person screening of "The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu," a feature documentary that premieres alongside the opening of the major exhibition of the same name.
• Exhibition OpeningSaturday, June 18, 2022Museum opens at 9 a.m.Castle Memorial Building
• Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival: Rainbows Across the PacificSaturday, June 18, 20225:30–9:30 p.m.Great LawnIn partnership with the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival, Bishop Museum presents a curated series of short films that bring the stories of queer Pacific Islanders to life on screen. This diverse collection of narrative and documentary shorts will make you laugh, cry, and reconsider what it means to honor culture and traditions without giving up who you are.

Bishop Museum expresses its appreciation to the generous sponsors of its exhibition, The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu:

*Presenting Sponsor:* C.N. Wodehouse Bishop Museum Trust

*Major Sponsor:* DAWSON

*Sustaining Sponsor:* John Chin Young Foundation

*Hospitality Sponsor:* Aqua-Aston Hospitality

*Media Sponsor:* Lei – For the LGBTQ+ Traveler

Bishop Museum Admission, Parking, and Hours

Timed General Admissions can be booked on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at BishopMuseum.org/Tickets. Tickets for Bishop Museum After Hours events can be purchased via this same webpage.

The safety and health of our visitors and employees remain our highest priorities. Face masks are optional but strongly encouraged. Learn more on our Health & Safety page.

*General Admission* Adults: $24.95 Seniors (65+): $21.95 Youth (4–17): $16.95 Children (3 and under): Free

*Hawaiʻi Residents, Hawaiʻi College Students & Military with ID* Adults: $14.95 Seniors (65+): $12.95 Youth (4–17): $10.95 Children (3 and under): Free

Children age 16 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Bishop Museum Annual Membership levels include free general admission and parking for 12 months. Learn more at BishopMuseum.org/Membership.

*Parking Rates* Daytime Rate: 6 a.m. – 5 p.m. $5.00 Evening Rate: 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. $3.00

*Hours* Open every day from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed on Thanksgiving and on Christmas Day.

Bishop Museum Café by Highway Inn offers a limited menu of bowls, sandwiches, and snacks from 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. daily. Bishop Museum Members receive a 10% discount with their membership card.