Call Type: Public Art

Entry Deadline: June 30, 2026

Eligibility: International Work Sample Requirements: 5-7 images

Location: Kakaʻako Waterfront Park, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

Budget: up to 4 semi-finalists will receive $500; artist of a selected design will receive $2,500 to finalize and prepare the mural for fabrication and installation. (Artist not responsible for fabrication or installation)

CALL DESCRIPTION

Lei Pua ʻAla Foundation invites artists to submit proposals for a permanent historical mural to be installed in a new AIDS Memorial & Community Memory Site at Honolulu’s Kakaʻako Waterfront Park Overlook, a hilltop site with all-encompassing views of city, mountain, and sea.

SOCIAL PURPOSE

Created by Lei Pua ‘Ala Foundation in collaboration with Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center, University of Hawaiʻi School of Medicine and other community partners, the memorial will be an enduring place where visitors can gather to reflect, mourn, and honor those who have been lost or suffered from HIV/AIDS, other epidemics, and related forms of prejudice, oppression and erasure; uplift Hawaiian and other cultural traditions of diversity, inclusion and well-being; and celebrate those working toward a more just and pono (equitable) future for all.

SYMBOLIC MEANING

Grounded in Hawaiʻi’s uniquely multicultural landscape, the selected mural will be a visually inspiring depiction of the long arc of community history honored by the memorial.  The artwork should be visually engaging from both a distance (30 ft) and up close (3 ft), and should evoke a sense of pride, joy, and hopefulness.

SIZE AND SCALE

The installation site is a 15.5-feet long, 40-inches tall, semi-circular rough stone wall at the mauka (mountain) side of the overlook facing the ocean.

MATERIALS AND FINISHES

The mural should be created offsite and able to be applied or mounted directly to the existing stone wall or on panels of a durable substrate attached to the wall able to withstand harsh environmental conditions without fading, corroding, or rusting, e.g., high-pressure laminate (the default choice which is being used for the interpretive plaques at the site), or other choices such as stone, glass, ceramic tile, non-ferrous metal, enamel on steel, or aluminum composite. The narrative elements of the epic story should be legible and contiguous across the series of panels.

APPLICATION / SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• All applications are to be submitted via a single combined .pdf file of no greater than 25MB to LeiPuaAlaFoundation@gmail.com by midnight July 31, 2026.

• Full contact information (Legal Name, email address, phone, mailing address) for artist and artist teams if applicable

• Statement of interest (250 words or less) describing your passion for the project, visual approach to the themes (outlined in more detail below)

• Artist experience, process, and past work examples

• Concept drawing, thumbnail sketches, figure renderings, or digital mock-up of proposed historical mural

Up to four semi-finalists will be chosen and receive $500 each to develop a fuller design, which they will be invited to present to the selection committee (virtually or in-person).

The artist of a selected mural design will be offered a fee of $2,500 to continue working with the Lei Pua ʻAla Foundation team to finalize and prepare the mural for fabrication and installation. The artist is not responsible for the cost of fabrication or installation.

THEMATIC DETAILS

Artists are encouraged to draw from a broad range of symbolic imagery that reflects the depth and expansiveness of Hawaiʻi’s experience with HIV/AIDS and histories of gender and sexual diversity across time and cultures. Consider themes of care, loss, and remembrance – such as healing practices, memorial forms, and networks of mutual aid – alongside symbols of resilience, resistance, and community advocacy. Artists may incorporate cultural motifs, migration and diaspora, and the blending of traditions that have shaped the islands’ multicultural landscape. Natural elements, layered narratives, and visual contrasts can be used to evoke the ongoing impact of HIV/AIDS and other struggles with disease, epidemics, and health in the islands, while honoring the strength, continuity, and interconnectedness of families and communities in Hawaiʻi across generations. In essence, it should tell an expansive, layered story of survival, resistance, cultural progression, and place.

More information and examples of these histories can be seen at:

https://www.queerhistoriesofhawaii.org/

https://www.queerhistoriesofhawaii.org/towardqueerjusticeinhawaii

PROJECT TIMELINE 2026 (subject to change)

June 15 Announcement and dissemination of Request for Artist Proposals

July 31 Deadline for proposal submission

Aug. 15 Selection of semi-finalists

Sept. 30 Semi-finalist presentations / interviews with committee

Oct. 15 Notification of selected artist

Oct. 31 Contract development and final design coordination 

TBD Fabrication and installation of mural