LIHUE — Hawaiian Telcom has commissioned local artist Kayti Lathrop to work with several middle and high school students to beautify utility boxes around the island of Kauai.
Lathrop’s corps of artists ranged from Kapaa Middle School, Kapaa High School and the Hawaii Technology Academy — that recently earned a grant from Walmart Kauai on the store’s anniversary — and include Chloe Hannsz, Rain Hannsz, Tawehi Oana-Makanani, Peshant Watson Spang and Zillary Watts.
Working on utility boxes in Anahola, Kapaa, Lihue, Poipu, and Hanapepe, the group worked for six months on a project brainstorming ideas, creating and finalizing designs the feature to reinforce the importance of being connected to the aina, culture and each other while showcasing the rich cultural resources and natural environment of Kauai.
“This collaborative project provided a much-needed and appreciated health activity for local aspiring art students,” Lathropp said. “It’s a true pleasure to witness their personal growth as they gained confidence in their designing and painting abilities, critical thinking and problem solving skills, made new connections, and relationships that will extend past this project, and practiced the Hawaiian value of lokahi — translated to mean ‘unity, harmony, and working together towards one goal’ — as they gifted back to our community their visual inspirations, educational content and aloha spirit.”
The Anahola box, located across from the Whalers General Store, honors the Hawaiian cultural practice of hula and features silhouettes of dancers and traditional accompanying musical instruments such as uli uli, or gourd filled with shells and decorated with feathers, pu‘ili, or bamboo sticks, ipu, or single and double gourd drums, and pabu, or sharkskin drum made from a coconut trunk.
This is displayed over a background of colorful symbolic geometric deigns and patterns used to decorate kapa cloth which was made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree for clothing, bedding and traditional ceremonies.
The Kapaa box, located by the bus stop in front of the Pono Kai Resort, focuses on symbiotic relationships with sea creatures, plants and reef life. The focal point is the beloved monk seal with the baby hinalea akilolo, or Hawaiian yellow tail coris.
The Lihue box that sits in front of the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, brings attention to the native Hawaiian voyaging, sailing and navigation practices, utilizing traditional waa, or voyaging canoes, and handmade wooden paddles.This wayfinder way involved deep observation, knowledge of directional awareness and seasonal changes, the constellations such as Makalii, or Pleiades, and bird migration.
The Poipu boc incorporates mano, or shark, honu, or green sea turtle, halalua, or manta ray, with remora fish, kohola, or humpback whale, and barnacles as well as maii, or Hawaiian bobtail squid, and the newly discovered and name Hawaiian deep sea angler species and bioluminescent bacteria, Vibrio fischeri in their mantle and lure, respectively.
The Hanapepe box in front of the public library, features symbiotic relationships between birds and plants, including the Nene, or Hawaiian goose, and ohelo berries, iiwi, or scarlet honey creeer, and ohia lehua, opelu flowers, and the alala, or now extinct Hawaiian crow, and the hoawa plant with its walnut-shaped fruit.
Lathrop is an art educator and visual artist who has worked for the past 25 years in a variety of settings. She has participated as one of the local artists chosen for the first annual Nirmanafest mural festival on Kauai and has led several interactive murals for many community events.
Hawaiian Telcom announced in June that Kauai is now fully fiber enabled, the third island in the state to reach this milestone. Hawaiian Telcom’s goal is to complete its $1.7 billion investment for all of the islands by the end of 2026 and be the first state in the nation to be fully fiber enabled. In addition to its fiber investment, the company is focused on continuing to strengthen relationships throughout the Garden Island.
Hawaiian Telcom has several community partnerships on Kauai, and the company’s charitable foundation recently awarded grants to Kauai-base Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges and Permanently Affordable Living, or PAL Hawaii.
“We were thrilled to partner with Kayti and these talented student, and are proud to showcase their designs,” said Su Shin, president of Hawaiian Telcom. “Community engagement is a core part of Hawaiian Telcom’s operating philosophy, and it’s exciting to see this partnerships visibly come to life.”
For more information, visit www.hawaiiantel.com.
Source: The Garden Island