Nestled among Norfolk Island pines, graceful jacarandas, and palm trees swaying in the gentle upcountry breeze, the historic Kaluanui Estate houses the Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center. Established in 1934, this community-based nonprofit aims to unleash creativity through visual arts education while intentionally preserving the 25-acre estate.

Kaluanui Estate’s open-air space enhances Hui No‘eau’s inclusive environment, engaging participants of all ages and backgrounds through hands-on education programs in ceramics, drawing, glassblowing, jewelry, metalsmithing, painting, photography, printmaking, Hawaiian cultural art, and more. Once the site of the East Maui Plantation Company, the estate’s dedication to inclusivity dates back to 1897, when women’s suffragist Ethel Smith married Harry Baldwin, son of sugar pioneer H.P. Baldwin. 

Harry’s father purchased the land in 1885. C.W. Dickey, Harry’s cousin and the famed architect behind Seabury Hall and the Imua Discovery Garden’s house, designed the home for Harry, Ethel, Frances, and their daughter, and in 1917, Kaluanui Estate was born. In 1919, Ethel joined the fight for American women’s right to vote, becoming the president of the Maui Women’s Suffrage Association. In service of the association’s mission to secure “equal and full political rights to the women of Hawai‘i,” she wrote speeches, papers, and pamphlets, and had these translated into Hawaiian, ensuring that no one would be excluded from the movement. 

Ethel not only possessed a fervor for advocacy, but also an array of creative talents ranging from ceramics, drawing, and painting to crocheting, knitting, and silversmithing. Passion for the arts led Ethel, Frances, and twenty other artists to establish Hui No‘eau in 1934. The club met regularly at Kaluanui until the estate became a home for the presidents of Mauna Ola College. Although it had briefly gathered elsewhere, Hui No‘eau returned to Kaluanui Estate after Maui Land and Pineapple Company permitted it to use the space. By 1967, Hui No‘eau had been designated a non-profit organization, offering open access to visual arts instruction through teaching artists. A holding of Maui Land and Pineapple Company, the estate was managed by Frances’ son, Colin Cameron. In 1976, he began leasing the estate’s vacant manor to Hui No‘eau for one dollar a year. Colin passed away in 1992, leaving Kaluanui Estate in the hands of Maui Land and Pineapple Company.

In 2005, the company’s managers attempted to sell the estate to a couple from Texas, prompting Hui No‘eau’s board and staff to launch the “Save the Hui, Buy Kaluanui” campaign. With the help of art supporters and the community, the grass-roots capital campaign raised millions in around six months. The Texas couple exited the purchase agreement after learning of Hui No‘eau’s efforts, and the Hui community purchased their beloved Kaluanui from Maui Land and Pineapple Company. 

Hui No‘eau celebrated Kaluanui Estate’s centennial in 2017 with a festival and special exhibition open to local artists. And today, Ethel’s passion for creativity and dedication to inclusivity live on through Hui No‘eau's programs, which include workshops, art events, tours, lectures, educational outreach programs with schools and community partner organizations, and hundreds of art classes each year. The estate’s historic structures provide essential spaces for learning, experimenting, and collaborating. Under the red-tiled roof of the main house, Hui No‘eau presents fine-art exhibitions and unique showcases. From the house’s solarium, views of Haleakalā, the West Maui Mountains, and Maui’s North Shore make the ideal backdrop for printmaking and other programs. A stable, carriage house, and garage have been repurposed as fully functioning artist studios, classrooms, and exhibition galleries. Art classes include wheel-throwing in the Ceramics Studio, lauhala weaving in the Garden Studio, and metalsmithing classes in the Jewelry Studio. 

The Photo Studio hosts classes, such as the Teen Photo Club, while the Children’s Studio serves as the home base for Camp Kaluanui, which is known for positively reinforcing creativity. At Winter Camp Kaluanui and Teens and Tweens Art Academy, youth enjoy a diverse and fun visual arts curriculum that keeps the body and imagination active, developing individual self-expression and creativity. At Spring Camp Kaluanui, campers design, construct, draw, paint, sculpt, and play their way through artistic activities, diving into hands-on projects and exploring various art materials daily. 

A hub for artistic expression, the untouched beauty of Upcountry Maui sparks creativity in those who attend Hui No‘eau’s classes. Students learn to express themselves through colorful, dynamic works of art in Glass Fusing classes held in the Breezeway, while the Courtyard serves as the site for guided Forest Bathing sessions, providing inspiration. “The opportunity to showcase at Hui Noʻeau helped me share my art to a broader audience. More importantly, it pushed me as an artist to follow through with a cohesive idea and have art for art’s sake that would connect with my community, not just as a commodity,” says Maui-based artist Sachelle Dae, who presented one of two concurrent solo exhibits at Hui Noʻeau in 2024 and worked in the Hui’s Outreach Program before taking time off to raise her daughter. “The Hui brings art education and a lot of amazing art supplies to the keiki at their schools. Many do not receive art education in school and have never been exposed to techniques like printmaking. We also have schools visit us on field trips. With the expansive green space and large trees, many of the keiki have a look of wonder just stepping onto our campus!”

“My favorite times here are the ʻExplore and Discover’ field trips. Students in grades Pre-K through twelfth come to the Center from all across Maui County. Some have never been upcountry and love to play with clay, learn about native species, and more,” says Anne-Marie Forsythe, Hui Noʻeau’s Executive Director. “The curriculum for the field trip program over the last two years has focused on native species and their habitats, including learning about ʻiʻiwi birds and their habitat by creating 3D sculptures of clay and 2D habitats. Last year, the curriculum included learning about the native kāhuli snail through a multi-media class project,” adds Development Director Erin O’Kief, who grew up down the road from Kaluanui Estate.

The belief that the arts build deeper connections, foster healing, and inspire hope is at the core of Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center’s mission. And never was the transformative power of art more apparent than in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires. In August 2023, Hui No’eau responded to the devastating fires by offering children and families an opportunity to process their grief, pain, and shock through the Art with Heart: Maui Fire Relief Programs. The free programs, many of which are ongoing, remove cost and transportation barriers to arts participation. 

Since the fires, Hui No‘eau has awarded scholarships to Kula and Lahaina residents who were affected, enabling them to take art classes at Kaluanui for healing. Additionally, Hui No'eau has offered direct support to Kula and Lāhainā artists who lost their art studios, homes, or both in the fires. The Hui provided art supply gift bag awards to Lahaina students in grades six through twelve, and awarded monetary scholarships to Lahainaluna High School art students, whose teachers selected them for recognition at the Lahaina Students Art Showcase. 

Living on an island in the middle of the Pacific naturally cultivates a tight-knit community, and Hui No‘eau takes that to another level through collaborative efforts.  In collaboration with Lynn Shue, owner of Village Galleries, the Hui presented “New Directions: A Village Gallery Showcase” as part of the Maui Fire Relief Programs. The showcase featured the artwork of 28 Maui artists and 18 students from Lahainaluna High School and Maui Preparatory Academy. 

Hui No‘eau also coordinated visits to Hawaiian immersion classrooms at Princess Nahi‘ena‘ena Elementary School from native Hawaiian practitioners U‘i Kahue, Kumulā‘au, and Haunani Sing, who taught the students the positive impact of Hawaiian arts. With the assistance of over twenty community partners and Lahaina schools, the Hui also began an ongoing initiative, distributing Art2Go art kits to classrooms and students in need across Maui County, and offering a weekly after-school program, Na Keiki Noʻeau, at Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School and King Kamehameha III Elementary School.

Fundraising is integral to facilitating Art with Heart initiatives, such as the Maui Fire Relief Programs, and helping the Center continue to provide year-round visual arts education programming that supports lifelong learning in Maui County. Art Affair, Hui No‘eau’s annual fundraiser event, features gourmet cuisine, live music, dancing, an online paddle raise, and both live and silent auctions to fund increased access to visual arts, especially for those who most need the arts for healing, mental health, and self-expression. 

“Fundraisers support the Center’s many free youth outreach programs, which are delivered in collaboration with Maui County Public Schools, Ka Hale A Ke Ola (KHAKO) Homeless Resource Centers, and other community organizations,” says Anne-Marie, who took art classes at the Hui when she was a child. After the wildfires forced more than 140 people to move from KHAKO’s Lahaina Center to the Wailuku Center, the Hui’s teaching artists began delivering in-person art programs at the shelter twice each week and continue to do so. “The teaching artists bring art kits and programs to the shelter. They have even had two art exhibitions of youth work at the shelter! The children are so proud to share what they've created.”

“The children always look forward to our weekly in-person art days,” says Misty Bannister, Children’s Services Coordinator at KHAKO. “Parents have also been enjoying time spent with their children in the groups, which promotes healthy parent-child relationships and precious bonding moments.” 

Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center’s efforts to unite others include inviting world-class teaching artists to Kaluanui Estate as part of the Visiting Artist Program. Through the program, locally, nationally, and internationally recognized visual artists share new techniques through hands-on workshops and presentations, helping enrich Maui’s visual arts community while building a global arts community.

Those who aren’t artistically inclined can still experience the estate by taking a self-guided walking tour that captures its living history. The tour highlights the remains of one of Maui’s earliest sugar mills and the architectural features of the over 100-year-old historical manor. Tours feature the opportunity to explore the grounds, where two of Maui’s largest Norfolk Island Pines grow, and peer inside the Hui’s professional art studios. Visitors can also attend the Hui’s free exhibits throughout the year, which change every few months. 

“There are five to eight exhibitions a year, and when we have exhibit openings, as many as 500 people attend. It feels like the Kaluanui house is breathing. It is engagement in a deeply meaningful way,” Erin says. Upcoming exhibitions include the “Heart of the Hui: Student and Faculty Showcase” and the “2025 Youth Art Exhibition,” which showcases the work of over 250 participants in the Hui’s summer arts programming. 

“I’m especially excited about collaborating with East Maui Watershed Partnership to bring ‘Mālama Wao Akua’ to the Hui again this fall. The annual juried art exhibition showcases Maui artists’ interpretation of native species, transporting people to the forest and watersheds through their art and raising awareness about the importance of protecting Maui Nui’s native species,” Erin adds.

“Frances Cameron was a hānai (informal adoptive) grandmother to me. She was my Dad’s Sunday School teacher, and my Mom ended up being Frances’ caregiver in the later years of her life,” Anne-Marie says. “I think Ethel and Frances would be proud of what the Hui has become.” With the unwavering support of donors, members, teaching artists, volunteers, board, community members, and staff, Ethel Baldwin’s passion for creative collaboration and commitment to inclusivity live on through Hui No‘eau’s mission to heal and build community through the power of the arts.

Learn more about touring Kaluanui Estate, teaching or taking a class, submitting artwork for an exhibit, attending an event, purchasing local artwork, or donating to Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center at huinoeau.com.