Our History

Hawai'i Alliance for Arts Education, founded in 1980, is the only statewide private non-profit for the arts that belongs to the national Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network, a major program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.

We represent 105 organizations and 300 individuals, a combined statewide membership of over 35,000.

We are recognized both locally and nationally for our achievements.

Awards and recognition include:
Animating Democracy grant, Americans for the Arts, 2004
Steps to Art grant, Americans for the Arts, 2000
Congratulatory Resolutions 2003: Hawai`i State Senate and House of Representatives
Keep it Hawai`i Award 2002: Hawai`i Visitors and Convention Bureau
Challenge America Grant, National Endowment for the Arts, 2002-2005
Arts Learning Grants, National Endowment for the Arts, 2003,2004, 2005
Kennedy Center Leadership, Invited presentor at national meeting, February 2006
U.S. DOE Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination 2003-2006


Why arts?
Research show us that motivation to learn, to stay in school and seek advanced education is significantly increased with a complete education that includes the arts. We cannot underestimate the power of the arts to transform lives. The Alliance advocates for arts education not just because there are impressive statistics about raising test scores or increasing earning power, but because when the arts become integral in all our lives, we are changed fundamentally