Mele Murals

Mele Murals is a project of the Estria Foundation that provides youth development, arts education, cultural preservation, and community building in Hawaii.

Mele Murals is a youth development, arts education, cultural preservation, and community-building project. Over a five-year period, starting in late 2013, local artists, youth, and other members of communities spanning the eight major islands of Hawai`i will create a series of large-scale outdoor murals focusing on Hawaiian lyrics (mele) that explore mo`olelo `aina (stories of place) and cultural

and historical heritage. Goals of Mele Murals:
Our work honors the last commands of our King David Kalakaua, “Look to the keiki, teach them, groom them, show them wonder, and inspire them.” Mele Murals affords a platform to teach young people to become storytellers, painters, and community leaders. The program’s goals are to:
• Create an all-islands public art project that is artistically excellent, deeply connected to the history of Hawai‘i, and a source of pride.

• Build and sustain an Art in Public movement across the island chain.

• Beautify the islands with professional works of art.

• Develop arts-interested youth into visual storytellers by educating them on local history, showing them how to connect to ancestors, and developing their artistic skills.

• Provide opportunities for youth to explore Hawaiian oral storytelling tradition, to learn how to read kaona, and to preserve Hawaiian values

• Educate about Hawaii’s cultural heritage.

• Teach public art techniques that are not taught in conventional arts classes.

• Increase cross-generation and cross-island engagement by creating new and exciting opportunities for all generations to learn and share mele and stories.

• Develop leadership, organizing, and public speaking skills.

• Enhance student creative and critical thinking skills through the mural arts process and support for arts educators and teaching artists.

• Increase social connection among youth artists by developing and supporting a network of youth mural clubs across the islands and connecting these clubs to area cultural workers.

• Use a broad set of media tools to share the stories of the mele with a broad, global audience, highlighting important artistic, cultural, and historical themes.

08/04/2026

Lots of nature during our Mele Murals Summer Program 2026! 🎨🖌🎨🖌

07/29/2026

That is a wrap for our Mele Murals Summer Program 2026! We had an amazing time sharing this past few weeks with our keiki! 🎨🖌🎨🖌

07/27/2026

Are those murals we see brewing on the background? 👀👀👀 Mele Murals Summer Program 2026 continued on week 3 with lots of paiting to be done!

07/24/2026

The fun continued for week 2 of our Mele Murals Summer Program 2026! 🎨🖌☀🎨🖌☀

07/21/2026

Our Mele Murals Summer Program 2026 was awesome! Here are some of our favorite moments from the first week of summer! 🎨🖌☀🎨🖌☀

07/14/2026

Sunny? We got you! Check out our full line of merch by going to the link in our bio! ☀☀☀

06/21/2026

We are always in need of walls to paint! Mele Murals transform a community’s visual landscape and remain a vibrant part of a neighborhood long after the project is completed. By donating a wall, you're helping us reach our goals of educating youth, preserving Hawaiian culture, and building stronger communities. Have a wall? Bling our line! 🎨🖌🎨🖌

06/03/2026

Less than a week out from our Mele Murals Summer Program 2026!🎨🖌🎨🖌

05/25/2026

Too young to paint murals, but old enough to enjoy a nice picnic with our Mele Murals micro fiber towels. You can also grab yourself one at our online store! 🎨🖌🎨🖌

05/14/2026

It is never too late to paint your first mural! Beautiful piece we had the pleasure to paint together at The Lutheran Church of Honolulu! 🖌🎨🖌🎨

Address

P. O. BOX 11562
Honolulu, HI
96828

Website

http://estria.org/

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