Using Art To Uplift Kalihi, And Every Hawaiʻi Neighborhood
An appreciation of the Hawaii Walls exhibit at Farrington High School.
October 2, 2025 · 3 min read
About the Author
I am a former art teacher. Over the past 30 years, I have worked alongside high school students to do installations and murals in Mānoa, Waimānalo, Waiʻanae, and Kalihi. Public art projects demand blood, sweat and tears.
Full creative freedom was granted to Hawaii Walls artists by Farrington High School three years ago.
The murals are not commissioned. Hawaii Walls artists do not receive payment. They donate their artwork and time.
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I happened to be at Farrington High on Sept. 15. It was the first official day of painting of 51 new Hawaii Walls murals.
Curious about the art, I walked around campus and interviewed eight muralists. They explained what they were painting about: grandparents, the struggle of Filipino immigrants, the Micronesian influence of Mau Piailug and star navigation, paddling, Kalihi pride, and Hawaiian monarchs.
(A tribute to the late Farrington High School football coach, Skippa Diaz, by Luke Hayes, is pictured above. Photo courtesy Christine Ho.)
One artist had taken vacation time from her other job so she could paint for five consecutive days. Another artist took a break, strummed his guitar and sang for nearby students — it was a song in Pidgin English that he had composed.
I appreciate the infusion of joy the new murals have brought to a historic and beloved campus. Each design has its own intended vibe: funny, somber, mystical, quirky, psychedelic, and more.
All of the compositions have positive themes. In art, every viewer brings their own opinions and values to the table.
Two people may view the same mural yet have opposing reactions. The personal journeys and discoveries of each individual artist shine through in their styles, symbols and subjects.
With 67 pieces donated by Hawaii Walls, plus three existing walls painted by other artists, there are 70 murals. Farrington High now holds the distinction of having the largest collection of outdoor murals at a public school in the nation.
Hawaii Walls murals also grace Puʻuhale and Kalihi Kai Elementary Schools, as well as Pālama Settlement, where my Korean grandfather used to play when he was young.
Hawaii Walls founder Jasper Wong grew up in Kalihi, where his mother ran a grocery store next to the Kentucky Fried Chicken branch on King Street across from Farrington.
Since 2011, Wong and local, national and international artists have proven that Hawaiʻi is a major player in the global street art scene. Dedicated corporate sponsors and hard-working muralists are making it a priority to keep the arts alive in Hawaiʻi.
Mahalo to Jasper, his wife and co-director, Amy Luu Wong, and all Hawaii Walls artists — past, present, and future — for their blood, sweat and tears.
Let us all work together to use art to uplift Kalihi, and every neighborhood.
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