Celebrate the ARTS!

imageHawai‘i Arts Alliance announces the 2010 Alfred Preis Honoree, Marie McDonald. The Alliance will celebrate her contributions as one of Hawai‘i’s most respected kupuna in lei and kapa arts.

Marie McDonald has spent 50 years perpetuating the lei of pre-contact Hawai‘i, and through her love of the art, is a tireless proponent of teaching the importance of taking better care of our forests and other areas where the sources of beautiful lei grow. She is one of Hawai‘i’s best known authorities on the subject, and the author of the definitive “Ka Lei–The Leis of Hawai‘i,” and “Na Lei Makamae” co-authored with Paul Weissich. She has also researched Native Hawaiian kapa making and from her findings developed plant dyes similar to those used by Ancient Hawaiians.

Marie is devoted to educating Hawai‘i’s youth and has been a resource specialist for the Department of Parks and Recreation and an art teacher in North Kohala, Hawai‘i Island. Her 10-acre farm in Waimea on Hawaiian Homes Lands provides a bounty of material for the living cultural arts of lei and kapa-making.

Marie supported the creation of HOEA: Hawaiian ‘Ohana for Education in the Arts established “To increase the number, visibility and accessibility to Native Hawaiian Art and Artists,” and was kumu kapa during its first session in 2009. The long-term vision for HOEA includes building a Community Art Center in one of the Hawaiian Home Land areas in Waimea in South Kohala, Hawai’i, and to transition an education structure into an accredited postsecondary School of Hawaiian Fine Arts.

Saturday, December 18, 2010
Twilight at Kalahuipua‘a
Talk Story Under a Full Moon
at the Eva Parker Woods Cottage on the Mauna Lani Bay
5:30 to 8:30 pm
Hosted by: Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, Kohala Coast
and presented by Danny Akaka, Jr.

Sunday, December 19, 2010
A special luncheon for invited guests in honor of Marie McDonald
11:30 am to 2:00 pm
Kanu o ka ‘Āina Learning ‘Ohana, Waimea





Preis Packages





Preis Celebrant $1,000 (for two guests)
Charitable Tax Deduction $645

- Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows - Garden View Room 2 nights
- $20 Spa credit per person
**Plus these Premiums
- 1 copy of Na Lei Makamae by Marie McDonald
- Historic Fish Ponds Tour compliments of Mauna Lani Resort, December 18
- Twilight at Kalahuipua'a at the Eva Parker Woods Cottage, Mauna Lani Resort, compliments of Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, December 18
- 2 seats at December 19 Honors Luncheon
- Alliance Membership - one year
- Recognition in Program and all publications


ARTS Angel $2,000 (for two guests)
Charitable Tax Deduction $1,534

- Mauna Lani Hotel - Ocean View Room 2 nights
- $30 Spa credit per person
**Plus Premiums noted above


ARTS Angel Special $3,000 (for two guests)
Charitable Tax Deduction $2,332

- Mauna Lani Hotel - Deluxe Ocean Front Room 2 nights
- $40 Spa credit per person
- Two rounds of golf (a $320 value)
- Food & Beverage Credit ($25 per room)
**Plus Premiums noted above

Tax-deductible contributions benefit the ARTS Fund and a portion will provide scholarships for Hawaiian ‘Ohana for Education in the Arts (HOEA) students.

For more information on sponsorships, call Stacy at Hawai‘i Arts Alliance at 533-2787.




Alfred Preis Award

As part of our national mandate we honor an individual for lifetime commitment to arts and arts education in Hawai`i. This year the Board of Directors of Hawai‘i Arts Alliance is hosting a special event to celebrate Marie McDonald and her lifetime achievements in arts and culture.

The Alfred Preis Award is named after the founder of Hawai‘i Arts Alliance, and the first executive director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. The Award was established in 1982, and recognizes those who have demonstrated in word and action a lifetime commitment to the arts and arts education for all the people of Hawai‘i. Based on the idea of making art “mandatory, rather than allowable,” Preis authored the Art in State Buildings Law, which designates one percent of public building construction funds for art, and established the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Art in Public Places Program. Also, an architect in Honolulu, Alfred Preis’ most noteworthy design is the iconic U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

See list of past honorees (PDF)

Preis Videos



Celebrate Videos