Unveiled in April 2026 at Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Ea Mai ‘Eiwa is a powerful, multigenerational exhibition grounded in the artistry and discipline of hula. The show brings together the work and legacy of Nālani Kanaka‘ole (1946–2026), alongside visionary designer Sig Zane, and their son, Kūha‘o‘īmaikalani Zane. Blending disciplines, the exhibition reflects the decades of dedicated patterns of practice by this Hilo-based ‘ohana (family) with each member honing distinct talents while contributing to a shared creative lineage. Here, hula, visual media, and historical collections converge in a dynamic expression of culture, memory, and mastery.

Discussions for the exhibition began in June 2024 when Kanaka‘ole, Sig Zane, and Kūha‘o‘īmaikalani visited the ethnological collections at Bishop Museum. The artists had, over the years, drawn upon cultural artifacts from this collection to inform their own creative practices.

Sarah Kuaiwa, PhD, Bishop Museum curator for Hawai‘i and Pacific Cultural Resources and co-curator of this exhibition, emphasizes the central role these ethnological holdings played in shaping the exhibition’s vision. “Recognizing these historic connections between the museum and the artists’ reverence for mea kupuna (cultural objects) as representatives of Native Hawaiian design theory and production was the catalyst for this exhibition,” she shares.

The title of the exhibition draws from Kūha‘imoana, a chant recounting the migration of nine shark deities from Kahiki, their ancestral homeland, to Hawai‘i. The artists interpret the meaning of “Ea Mai ‘Eiwa” as “structures of nine” or “here are the nine,” a reference to the nine shark gods and their journey, during which they carried with them cultural practices, worldviews, and systems for sustaining a healthy ‘āina (land). These nine structures underscore the strength and resilience of ancestral stories, offering both insight and inspiration for the present day.

The exhibition emerged through a deeply collaborative process, shaped by close dialogue between co-curators Kuaiwa and Kumu Hula Kau‘i Kanaka‘ole, who is also Nālani Kanaka‘ole’s niece, participating artists, and exhibition designer DeAnne Kennedy. Guided by the artistic direction and choreography of Nālani Kanaka‘ole — the Hilo-born daughter of Luka and Edith Kanaka‘ole and the fifth in a direct line of kumu hula within a family whose hālau (hula group) spanned eight generations — and brought to life alongside Sig Zane’s photography and textile design and the graphic works of Kūha‘o‘īmaikalani, the project unfolded as an immersive, layered experience that bridges disciplines and generations.

For co-curator Kuaiwa, collaboration was not simply a method but a guiding principle. “Conversations were constant, not only with the artists but also with Kumu Hula Huihui Kanahele-Mossman and the ‘ōlapa (dancers) from Kanaka‘ole’s hālau, Hālau o Kekuhi, as well as staff members of Sig Zane Designs,” she explains. “Various Bishop Museum staff members worked collaboratively with partners in these two organizations to help coordinate critical movement and logistics of loan objects, fact-checking, and confirming provenance information.”

The exhibition opens with Holo Mai Pele, a seminal work that the artists identify as foundational to their creative and research practices. Premiering on Maui in 1995, the ambitious stage production was conceived by sisters Kumu Hula Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele and Nālani Kanaka‘ole. Originally staged as a three-hour theatrical performance, it was later adapted into a one-hour public television special, expanding its reach to a wider audience. Memorabilia and ephemera from this groundbreaking production are presented alongside Kūha‘imoana, Kanaka‘ole’s striking kite installation, and her final large-scale work created before her passing in January 2026.

Also featured are works by Sig Zane, one of Hawai‘i’s most celebrated artists and the husband of Kanaka‘ole. Born and raised on O‘ahu, Zane relocated to Hilo in the early 1970s to attend college. Over time, he gained acclaim as a surfer, fisherman, hula dancer, and designer. In 1985, Zane and his wife launched his clothing line, bringing the inspiration of nature, dance, and ritual to life through his shirts. Within the exhibition, new and archival sketches and rubylith artworks created by Zane from 1990 to the present are on display, situated alongside specimens from Bishop Museum’s botany department, tying the past collection to the present.

For the past two decades, Kūha‘o‘īmaikalani, the couple’s son, has worked with his father at Sig Zane Designs. After attending the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, he returned to the islands and now serves as the company’s CEO and creative director. He has expanded the company’s reach while maintaining its deep cultural foundations, including the opening of a second location in Honolulu, and, through his leadership, Sig Zane Designs continues to grow both as a design house and a platform for storytelling rooted in place.

In collaboration with Kau‘i Kanaka‘ole, Kuaiwa worked to select objects from Bishop Museum’s Ethnology Collection that resonate with the exhibition’s themes. “After discussing the ceremonial elements of hula, including their ‘ahu (altar) and their styles and evolutions of costuming, Kau‘i and I selected pieces with similar connections to the artists’ design theories,” Kuaiwa notes. “For example, ‘ohe kāpala (bamboo stamps) from the museum’s collection were chosen not only for their design and intricacy but because the artists understood ‘ohe kāpala as the basis of Native Hawaiian graphic design and as a mode of storytelling.” Furthering the lineage of artistry, the co-curators paired the museum’s ‘ohe kāpala with a new ‘ohe kāpala designed by Kanaka‘ole and her student, Kehau Kaula.

Additional works on view include archival hula ‘a‘ahu (garments) and implements designed by Kanaka‘ole and crafted by students of Hālau o Kekuhi; family photographs from the Kanaka‘ole ‘ohana; and significant cultural objects from the museum’s collection, such as 19th-century kapa (barkcloth), as well as ‘awa (kava) cups and kānoa (‘awa bowls) associated with ali‘i (Hawaiian nobility).

Bridging the historic and contemporary, Ea Mai ‘Eiwa resists notions that the past is distant or fixed. Instead, it reveals ‘ike kupuna (ancestral knowledge) as a living force that continues to inform, challenge, and inspire creative practice in the present. Through its interwoven narratives of hula, design, and material culture, the exhibition illuminates a dynamic, symbiotic relationship between generations, where tradition is not preserved in stasis but carried forward — an affirmation that the past and present exist in constant dialogue, shaping one another in enduring ways.

Ea Mai ‘Eiwa is on view through September 20, 2026; Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu; (808) 847-3511; Open daily, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day); bishopmuseum.org