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Inundation: Art and Climate Change in the Pacific


This exhibit will run from January 19–February 28, 2020.

Inundation: Art and Climate Change in the Pacific
Angela Tiatia, “Holding On,” 2015. Courtesy of the artist and Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney and Singapore.

via Inundation:

Inundation refers to both the watery disasters of climate change and the overwhelming emotions they evoke. This exhibition, curated by Jaimey Hamilton Faris, Associate Professor at the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, features work by Mary BabcockKaili ChunDAKOgamayJames JackKathy Jetn̄il-KijinerJoy Lehuanani EnomotoCharles Lim, and Angela Tiatia. Based in the Pacific, these artists experience the climate emergency as an extension of long-term colonial, extractive and developmental forces that have made their communities especially vulnerable. The exhibition will also be on view at the Donkey Mill Art Center, Hōlualoa, Hawai‘i, from March 28 – June 26, 2020.

The exhibit will feature multi-media videos, installations, and performance projects. Artists address climate justice situations in Hawaiʻi, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, the Philippines, Okinawa, and Singapore.

There will also be companion events taking place at UH and around Honolulu throughout the run of the exhibit. For a list, see our calendar, the Inundation website, or the Art & Art History Department Inundation page.

Events featuring Southeast Asian artists:

  • January 21: Water Talks: Climate Justice in the Pacific
    Feel free to come to one or both panels.
    • Panel 1: Moving Stories (4:00–5:30 PM)
      • Charles Lim, Artist, Singapore
      • Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, Artist, Marshall Islands
      • Joy Lehuanani Enomoto, Artist
      • Julian Aguon, Blue Ocean Law, Guam
    • Pupus (5:30PM)
    • Panel 2: Healing Communities and Environments (6:00–7:30 PM)
      • Martha Atienza, Artist​, Philippines
      • Kaili Chun, Artist, Hawaiʻi
      • Kealoha Fox, Native Hawaiian Liaison at AlohaCare and Advisory Committee, Institute for Climate and Peace
      • Natalie Kurashima, Integrated Resources Manager, Kamehameha Schools
  • January 23: Water Talks II: Climate Justice in the Pacific
    Feel free to come to one or both panels.
    • Panel 1: Tales of the Okinawan Sea (4:00–5:30 PM)
      • James Jack, Artist, Singapore
      • Kenneth Kaneshiro, Director of the Center for Conservation Research and Training, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, SOEST
      • Norman Kaneshiro, musician, UHM lecturer
    • Pupus (5:30PM)
    • Panel 2: Moving Stories II (6:00–7:30 PM)
      • Martha and Jake Atienza, Artists, Philippines
      • Manuel Mejia, Polynesian Voyaging Society + Community Program Manager, The Nature Conservancy
      • Keith Bettinger, Climate Adaptation Specialist, United Nations Development Program, USAID Climate Ready Project

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies is proud to be a co-sponsor of this event.