
Video still, Lawrence Seward, unrealized proposal for Revisiting Kealakekua Bay, Reworking the Captain Cook Monument (2018–ongoing), 2020. Courtesy the artist and kekahi wahi (Sancia Miala Shiba Nash and Drew K. Broderick).
Artist, curator, and educator Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick initiated Revisiting Kealakekua Bay, Reworking the Captain Cook Monument in August 2018, a year after white nationalists protested the planned removal of the Robert E. Lee monument in Charlottesville, Virginia. Amidst recent conversations about the need to redress commemorative spaces across the continental United States, the monument dedicated to Cook at Kaʻawaloa remained unquestioned. The obelisk’s inscription continues to ignore the acts of violence committed by the captain and his crew. Furthermore, those Kānaka ʻŌiwi who were killed in retaliation are not acknowledged nor are the names of the chiefs and spiritual advisors who negotiated peace in the aftermath.

Video still, Sean Connelly, unrealized proposal for Revisiting Kealakekua Bay, Reworking the Captain Cook Monument (2018–ongoing), 2020. Courtesy the artist and kekahi wahi.
Broderick’s multi-year engagement invites artists, architects, and cultural practitioners to revisit a storied place and rework a historical monument to center lesser known narratives of resistance in Hawaiʻi, reflect on legacies of scientific colonialism in the Pacific, and motion toward remediated futures already in the making. Participating in different stages of research and development are Bernice Akamine, Gaye Chan, Kaili Chun, Sean Connelly, Les Filter Feeders, Lawrence Seward, and Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum. Over the course of 2023 and 2024, Revisiting, Reworking unfolds through ongoing conversations with collaborators, community gatherings, site visits, and unrealized interventionist proposals.
To broaden the potential impact of the project within the arts ecosystem of Hawaiʻi, Broderick is partnering with the not-for-profit Puʻuhonua Society. Founded by his grandmother and currently under the leadership of his sister, Puʻuhonua’s mission is to create meaningful opportunities for Kānaka ʻŌiwi and Hawai‘i-based artists and cultural practitioners. Tracing its history to 1972, the organization supports those who serve as translators/mediators/
amplifiers of social justice issues. Puʻuhonua means “place of refuge.”

Video still, Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum, unrealized proposal for Revisiting Kealakekua Bay, Reworking the Captain Cook Monument (2018–ongoing), 2020. Courtesy the artist and kekahi wahi.