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. 

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.”

Drew Kahu‘āina Broderick is an artist, curator, and educator from Mōkapu, a peninsula on the windward side of Oʻahu, in U.S.-occupied Hawaiʻi. Currently, he serves as director of Koa Gallery at Kapiʻolani Community College and as a member of kekahi wahi (2020–), a grassroots film initiative documenting stories of transformation across Moananui. Recently, he co-curated ʻAi Pōhaku, Stone Eaters (2023) with Josh Tengan and Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu; Hawaiʻi Triennial 2022: Pacific Century – E Hoʻomau no Moananuiākea with Melissa Chiu and Miwako Tezuka; and Mai ho‘ohuli i ka lima i luna (2020) with Kapulani Landgraf and Kaili Chun. Previously, he worked in the artist collective PARADISE COVE (2015–2018), operated an artist-run venue SPF Projects (2012–2016), and co-founded an annual open-call exhibition, CONTACT (2014–2019). Broderick holds a MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.

Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick

Puʻuhonua Society

• Honolulu, HI
• Revisiting Kealakekua Bay, Reworking the Captain Cook Monument
• $25,000

Research