Catalina Museum for Art & History is presenting the exhibition Skirting Issues: Hula Moves Stateside, which went on view March 18. Through original artifacts, music, and related ephemera, including historical photographs exploring the Hawaiian craze of the late 1890s to the present. Visitors are invited to dance their way through the gallery and directly into challenging histories of authenticity, American colonialism, appropriation, complicity and resistance.
Hula has been a part of Indigenous Hawaiian culture for hundreds of years. Hula was a way of passing along knowledge from generation to generation. Over the past two centuries, hula has transitioned from a sacred ritual practice to a tourist attraction, becoming a target of appropriation as it gained popularity in American popular culture.
Skirting Issues: Hula moves Stateside uses the iconic image of the hula skirt to explore the fluid space between Hawaiian-based and Hawai’i-inspired ideas about hula. “We are delighted to share this unique and important display,” said Amy Ku’uleialoha Stillman, Guest Curator for the exhibition. “In this exhibit, we want to create conversations around cultural appropriation, imposed stereotypes, and cultural appreciation.
On Friday, April 7, the museum will host an exhibition opening event during First Fridays at the Museum. For more information about Skirting Issues: Hula Moves Stateside exhibition at Catalina Museum for Art & History, visit CatalinaMuseum.org/Upcoming-Exhibits.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed on Mondays. For more information about the Catalina Museum for Art & History, visit CatalinaMuseum.org. To stay connected, follow the museum’s social media platforms @CatalinaMuseum on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About Amy Ku’uleialoha Stillman
Amy Ku’uleialoha Stillman is Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, and Professor of American Culture and Music at the University of Michigan. She currently serves as Director of Native American Studies, and past director of Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies. She is the author of Sacred Hula: The Historical Hula ‘Ala’apapa, and numerous articles, on the history of Hawaiian music and hula in leading scholarly journals (including American Quarterly, Ethnomusicology, Hawaiian Journal of History and Journal of American Folklore). She has served as reviewer and consultant to leading arts agencies nationally. Her curatorial experience includes a series of four mass concerts and CDs with the organization Kulia i ka Punawai (Kumu Hula Association of Southern California) involving the participation of fifteen hula troupes in Southern California. As a songwriter and lyricist, she has co-produced three CDs with artist Tia Carrere and singer-songwriter Daniel Ho, two of which won Grammy awards for Best Hawaiian Album, in 2008 and 2010.
About Catalina Museum for Art & History
The Catalina Museum for Art & History offers the best in art and history exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world, and the finest in silent, documentary and international film. The museum is located in the heart of Avalon at 217 Metropole Avenue. For more information, the museum may be reached by phone at 310-510-2414 or at its website: CatalinaMuseum.org.
