New York University will host KŪKULU: Pillars Standing Together, a traveling art exhibition, beginning on Wed., May 10 and through the fall of 2023. The 24/7 display, curated by Native Hawaiian activist and cultural practitioner Pua Case and NYU alumnus Lehuanani DeFranco, will be on view on NYU’s Schwartz Plaza Vitrines.
An opening ceremony, featuring remarks from co-curator DeFranco and others, will take place at the exhibition site on Tues., May 9, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. To register, please visit the event page.
The exhibition, sponsored by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU and Mauna Kea Education and Awareness, is free and open to the public. It honors those who have advocated for the protection of Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest mountain—measured from the ocean floor—and located on the island of Hawaiʻi. KŪKULU: Pillars Standing Together chronicles those in New York who have stood for Mauna Kea and other sacred Indigenous sites.
Mauna Kea, also known as Mauna a Wākea (“Mountain of Sky Father”), is considered by Native Hawaiians to be sacred—an energetic portal, vital aquifer, fragile alpine ecosystem, and vibrant landscape of Hawaiian cultural practices and sites. Over five decades of development on Mauna Kea have resulted in substantial, significant, and adverse impacts upon the environment, Mauna Kea’s advocates say. Since 2010, Mauna Kea Protectors and their allies have stopped TMT International Observatory LLC’s construction attempts through court hearings, meetings, community engagement, and frontline actions.
Learn more on the A/P/A Institute webpage.
Directions and accessibility: The Schwartz Plaza Vitrines are visible 24/7 in the brick passageway between West 4th and West 3rd Sts. (at Greene Street), directly south of Washington Square East.
Subways: 6 (Astor Place); A, B, C, D, E, F, M (West 4th Street); R, W (8th Street)
