Downtown Art Center

08/21/2026

NEW ART CLASS LISTED: Part 1: Foundations of Acrylics & Part 2: Intermediate Acrylics with teaching artist Marina Borovok! Take your acrylic painting skills from basic color studies to advanced techniques for creating textured, expressive paintings with these two classes at DAC, starting in October.
Sign up now at downtownarthi.org/classes!

🎟 PART 1: FOUNDATIONS OF ACRYLICS
Wednesdays from 12 to 3 PM
3 sessions: 10/14, 10/21, and 10/28
$180 per person, materials not included

🎟 PART 2: INTERMEDIATE ACRYLICS
Wednesdays from 12 to 3 PM
3 sessions: 11/4, 11/11 and 11/18
$180 per person, materials not included
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08/21/2026

Women's Work, on view in the 2nd floor Courtyard Gallery from now til August 29, is a joyful and colorful expression of what it means to be a creative woman. This exhibition, presented by DAC, with support from a grant by the Awesome Foundation, brings together a collaboration of 20 celebrated kupuna women artists from around Hawaii, exploring the theme of what women do, make, and experience. Admission is FREE and open to the public, Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Featured artwork:
1. “Making Magic” by Karen Lucas, paper and wire.
2. "Thoughts and Prayers" by Deborah G. Nehmad, graphite on handmade Nepalese paper, with wire sculpture by Jackie Mild Lau.
💃🏾

08/20/2026

Guitar Foundation of Hawaii's Sunday Sessions Live Music will NOT be happening Sunday, September 6 at DAC. We'll see you again on Sunday, October 4 from 3-5 p.m. in the DAC Classroom for more awesome live, local music!
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08/20/2026

Now celebrating its 34th year, Hawai'i's Woodshow, presented by the Hawai‘i Forest Association (HFA), showcases outstanding furniture, sculpture, turned pieces, and fine crafts made from Hawai'i-grown wood. On view from now until August 29 during regular gallery hours, Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the exhibition is a gorgeous collection of unique fine woodworking, student innovation, and a pop-up market by members of Honolulu Kupuna Shed. Visit now and find out more at woodshow.hawaiiforest.org.
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08/15/2026

🌈 Calling all artists of Hawai’i: The Call to Artists is NOW OPEN for the Artists of Hawai'i Biennial 2026, presented by Downtown Art Center! This is your chance to be a part of the state’s largest and longest-running all-media juried exhibition, dedicated to showcasing the best of Hawai'i’s contemporary art. Whether you’re a painter, sculptor, photographer, or work in any other medium, we encourage you to enter.

Works will be juried by Trisha Lagaso Goldberg, Director of Programming & Engagement for Anderson Collection at Stanford University and former public art project manager for the Hawai’i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Artists of all ages (yes, even minors with parental permission) working in any medium who reside in the state of Hawai'i are encouraged to apply.
Go to https://www.downtownarthi.org/artistsofhawaii for the full Prospectus, instructions, and submission form.

Key Dates:
* Submission Period: August 15 (Sat) - September 15 (Tues), 2026
* Deadline for Online Submission: September15, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. HST
* First Jurying Results Released: Thursday, October 8, 2026
* Exhibition: November 6 - December 19, 2026 at Downtown Art Center
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Artists of Hawaiʻi Biennial 2026   Downtown Art Center is proud to present the Artists of Hawai'i Biennial 2026. This exhibition, held in DAC’s Main Gallery from November 6 through December 19, 2026, is dedicated to showcasing the best of Hawai'i’s contemporary art. Works will be juried by Tri...

08/15/2026

Aloha DAC ʻohana, we regret to inform you that DAC will be CLOSED this Saturday and Sunday. Due to the incoming Tropical Storm Lala and a broken air conditioning system, all of our exhibitions will be closed, and all scheduled programming cancelled or postponed to later dates. Mahalo for your kokua, and stay safe this weekend!
⛈

08/15/2026

Due to Saturday's storm, DAC Storytelling Night with David O'Shea has been RESCHEDULED to Saturday, September 26 from 6-7:30 p.m. Get tickets for $10 at downtownarthi.org/events.

Be safe and well this weekend, and we'll see you soon at DAC!
🗣

08/13/2026

NEW CLASSES LISTED: Basic Watercolor & Sketchbook Techniques: Single Sessions with Michelle Dolan! Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., $60 per session, register at downtownarthi.org/classes.

Pressed for time? Don't worry! Each of these classes is a fun, standalone 3-hour single session that can be purchased separately . Sign up for one, a few, or all of them if you want! Each workshop begins with one hour of basic instruction, followed by two hours of guided practice.

SCHEDULE:
September 17 - Jungle Landscapes
September 24 - Botanicals/Postcards
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October 22 - Beach Landscapes
October 29 - Travel Sketchbooks/Postcards
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November 5 - Jungle Landscapes
November 12 - Botanicals/Postcards
November 19 - Beach Landscapes
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December 3 - Travel Sketchbooks/Postcards
December 10 - Jungle Landscapes

Artwork by Michelle Dolan.
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08/12/2026

08/12/2026

Mahalo to writer Katrina Valcourt and photographer Aaron Yoshino for the excellent feature on Hawaii's Woodshow in Honolulu Magazine!

Downtown Art Center hosts the Hawai‘i Forest Association’s 34th annual Hawai‘i’s Woodshow exhibition Aug. 7–29. Here’s a preview.