This section of our website is dedicated to following the journey of this highly anticipated project; "The Artistic Collaboration Between the Hawaiin Kapa and Hula". Kapa Hawaii is exclusively covering the progress of this project.
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2013 Artistic Collaboration II Planning Begins
Tuesday, 27 September 2011 21:30
AN ARTISTIC COLLABORATION: THE HAWAIIAN ARTS OF HULA AND KAPA PHASE II: Information Sheet
Kapa makers interested in participating in the next Hula Kapa event, please read this information carefully. Email us at
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if you need more information.
PROJECT: An Artistic collaboration between a hui of contemporary kapa makers and Halau O Kekuhi, Kumu Hula Nalani Kanaka’ole, Kekuhi Keali’ikanaka’ole, and Huihui Kanahele-Mossman, in which the halau will be attired in Hawaiian kapa garments of pa’u and malo for traditional hula presentations. Kapa makers will come together to produce kapa for traditional Hawaiian hula garments in a manner that has not been seen for over a century. The purpose of this project is to showcase Hawaiian kapa in one of its functional, cultural and traditional uses and forms.
Hula Kapa Collaboration for 2013 Call to Practitioners
Sunday, 18 September 2011 14:36
As plans begin for the next Hula Kapa Collaboration, all kapa makers are encouraged to be a part of this project that celebrates the ongoing interest in and appreciation of traditional Hawaiian kapa.
Those who want to make kapa for this event should begin planting their wauke or helping to malama a mala wauke that they might use for their source. Without wauke, we have no kapa. For more information about wauke cultivation please contact us.
Some of the events being planned in conjuntion with the performance on Maui in 2013 include a kapa makers retreat in January 2012. This particular retreat will be for those who are already kapa makers and will not be a novice training class. It will be a time to get together as kapa makers and share techniques and mana`o about kapa and tool making, wauke, dyes and all things that pertain to our craft. As of this writing we are looking to host this retreat on Hawaii Island.
If you have any questions about the 2013 Collaboration, please email us at
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or you can message Dalani on Facebook at Kapa Hawaii LLC, and dont forget to Like the page. We will be posting updates here on the site and at FB so check back often.
Last Updated ( Friday, 30 September 2011 18:18 )
Halau O Kekuhi - Merrie Monarch 2011
Sunday, 08 May 2011 11:35
Videos, pictures and articles from Merrie Monarch Hula Festival 2011
Hula Kapa Collaboration Thrills Hilo at Merrie Monarch Ho`ike 2011
Wednesday, 04 May 2011 20:47
After waiting for a year and 4 months, the big night finally arrived. 32 kapa makers, representing most of the known kapa practitioners in the state, as well as one from California, filed onto the first row in front of the stage at the Edith Kanaka`ole Stadium on April 27, 2011 for the opening event of the Merrie Monarch competition.
The Wednesday night Ho`ike event is a non-competitive evening of sharing dance and music from different cultures. Tonight was extra special as the kapa makers eagerly watched Kumu Nalani Kanaka`ole step onto the stage and begin her chanting. The history of the kapa practitioners spans from the early 1970’s to as recently as the last two years. They walked in, adorned in kapa themselves, wearing sashes and wraps, sporting hat bands and carrying hand bags and clutches, all made by themselves. They greeted old friends and were introduced to new ones… they were all there for a singular purpose…. To watch Halau O Kekuhi now uphold their part of the Hula Kapa Collaboration, which was to do what they do best…. Hula kahiko, only now, most of the group was dressed in traditionally inspired and produced, but modern made Hawaiian kapa.
Latest article in Hawaiian Airlines Hanahou Magazine about the Hula Kapa Collaboration
Sunday, 10 April 2011 18:33
Before the advent of cotton, Hawaiians considered kapa the fabric of their lives. Nearly all their garments were fashioned from bark cloth, and hula practitioners saved their most exquisite kapa malo (loincloths) and pa‘u (skirts) for performance. But as native customs gave way to Western sensibilities, kapa .....
An Artistic Collaboration: The Hawaiian Arts of Hula and Kapa
Saturday, 20 February 2010 15:57
An artistic collaboration between a hui of contemporary kapa makers and Hālau O Kekuhi, Kumu hula Nalani Kanaka`ole, in which the hālau will be attired in Hawaiian kapa garments of pa`u and malo for a traditional hula presentation at the Merrie Monarch Ho`ike in April 2011 in Hilo Hawai`i.
Kapa and Hula Journey
As plans begin for the next Hula Kapa Collaboration, all kapa makers are encouraged to be a part of this project that celebrates the ongoing interest in and appreciation of traditional Hawaiian kapa. 