B on Hawaii

In the late 1970s, a new art form was born on urban the streets of Manhattan. Young kids—often frustrated with convention—armed with spray cans “tagged” the cold steel of dormant subway cars and buildings in shadowy alleys, only to emerge as the sun rose as roving artwork embraced on the streets. Some of these artists went on to lucrative design careers; others went to jail. Now, twelve top graffiti artists in Hawai‘i will compete in the “Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle” at the Honolulu Academy of Arts at Linekona Art Center this Saturday, Sept. 3, from noon to 7:00 p.m.

While the name Sig Zane isn’t unknown throughout fashionable circles on O‘ahu, it isn’t every day that the residents of one isle get to deeply experience the true artistry of an entire family of talent that resides on another island. In fact, there may still be some that aren’t aware: authentic (and hand drawn) aloha attire designer Zane is married to the uber-talented kumu hula (and cultural practitioner) Nalani Kanaka‘ole. Along with son Kuha‘o—an entrepreneur and artist—the Hilo-based trio will lecture, display and talk story at an open gallery event for an entire week in Waikiki.

Here's a “shout out” to our aloha amigos in SoCal: The Hawaiian production “One Kine Day”—a film that captures the lesser seen side of youth life in the islands—is screening at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 1, 2011. Filmed entirely on location in Hawai‘i, this picture follows both newcomer and veteran stars on a ride in the life of a skater-slacker who finds out his 15 year old girlfriend is pregnant.