"Aloha Lahaina" - How an art gallery in Sarasota, FL pays tribute a year after Hawaiian wildfires

It was just a little over a year ago that tragic wildfires blazed and consumed the town of Lahaina, HI, an incident that has since reported a little over a hundred confirmed casualties, in what has been a very challenging period of grief, healing and reconstruction for the small, but mighty coastal town located in Maui County.

Jock Armour, the current Director of the Milan Art Gallery in Sarasota, FL, and a former Lahaina-based resident himself, has organized a special tribute show at his gallery on August 29th to commemorate the lives, homes and infrastructure taken by the event. Though, this aspect is only the surface of the show's purpose. Through Aloha Lahaina's carefully curated collection of art, Jock also aims to shed light on the resilience of the people of Lahaina by shifting the narrative from victimization to perseverance from a variety of perspectives and mediums from local and Hawaiian artists to channel this exact theme. As Jock so beautifully puts in a news piece about the show by local FOX affiliate Tampa Bay 13, "Aloha means both hello and goodbye, so let's say hello again."

Artworks featured in the show include paintings like "Pono" by Tanya Johnston (pictured above) which depicts a scene of two native figures in traditional wear embracing each other in flames and sculptures like "Bloom Lahaina" by Angela Mia (pictured below) which also stands as the show's centerpiece for its artifact as a surviving sculpture initially housed at the Wyland Gallery in Lahaina, which subsequently became a casualty of the wildfire. But despite its damage, the sculpture, alongside a few more pieces, managed to survive, which Armour believes makes it a perfect symbol of the show's overall message.

A total of 62 individual artworks will be displayed at the show with proceeds from sales being donated to the Hua Momona Foundation to provide food relief and agricultural education to families in Maui.

For those not located in the Sarasota, FL area, fret not. "Aloha Lahaina" can also be virtually attended via YouTube livestream on August 29th from 6 PM - 7:30 PM Eastern Time.

More info on the show can be found here.