FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jan. 15, 2025

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HoMA TO RECEIVE $50,000 AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 

HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I—The Honolulu Museum of Art is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for the Arts Projects award of $50,000. This grant will support the upcoming exhibition “Lyrically Rebellious: The Prints of Onchi Kōshirō,” which will be on view Aug. 23, 2025, to April 12, 2026.

This exhibition celebrates the accomplishments of Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955), who was Japan’s first abstract artist and oversaw a printmaking revolution as leader of the sōsaku hanga (creative prints) movement. Over the course of his career, Onchi invented a visual language in response to profound philosophical concerns, such as how an artist depicts a subject that is not visible, like a passage of music.

Some of Onchi’s most enthusiastic patrons were Americans, including the Honolulu-based collectors James Michener (1907-1997) and Oliver Statler (1915-2002). As a result, the Honolulu Museum of Art possesses the largest collection of prints by Onchi outside of Japan. Commemorating the seventieth anniversary of the artist’s death, this retrospective is a testimony to Onchi’s enormous influence upon modern and contemporary art within Japan and beyond its borders.

The NEA will award 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year grants.

“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place, including ‘Lyrically Rebellious.’”

“We are deeply appreciative of this generous grant from the NEA,” said Halona Norton-Westbrook, Director and CEO of HoMA. “It is a testament to the incredible quality of our collection and the exciting work the museum’s staff is doing to interpret and share it with our communities and the wider world.”

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Images available on request.

About the Honolulu Museum of Art

HoMA is a gathering place where art, education, and community converge in two iconic buildings in the heart of Honolulu. Presenting our remarkable collection and innovative exhibitions in the galleries, screening the best in new cinema, and offering a full curriculum of studio art classes, HoMA is a vital, transformative part of Hawai‘i’s cultural landscape accessible to all.

The museum inspires and uplifts the community through transformative art experiences that celebrate creativity, cultivate wonder, foster empathy and enhance knowledge in order to deepen our connections with one another and the world we share. 

www.honolulumuseum.org

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