The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has appointed internationally acclaimed artist Kapwani Kiwanga as the Spring 2025 Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals.
Kiwanga, who represented Canada at the 2024 Venice Biennale—one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art exhibitions. Kiwanga is known for her work exploring history, cultural memory, colonialism and the natural environment.
“Her research-driven artistic practice resonates deeply with the chair’s mission to pursue democratic ideals in the contemporary world,” said Peter Arnade, Dean of the College of Arts, Languages & Letters.
Kiwanga’s work has been exhibited in major institutions worldwide, from Munich to Shanghai. In Hawaiʻi, she is a featured artist in the Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025–a contemporary art exhibition held every three years in the islands. Her large-scale installation, “Vestibule,” is currently on view at Bishop Museum.
“Her work disrupts colonial narratives and encourages us to reexamine our understandings of both history and its contemporary consequences,” said Noelle Kahanu, a faculty member in American studies and co-curator of the Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025. “In the context of Hawaiʻi, her research practices and artistic expressions resonate in particularly significant ways.”
Free keynote
As part of her month-long residency, Kiwanga will deliver a keynote address on Thursday, February 27, at 7 p.m., at UH Mānoa’s Art building auditorium in room 132. The event is free and open to the public and will explore her latest projects and artistic approach, which challenges dominant narratives and examines power dynamics. The address will be followed by a public conversation moderated by Kahanu.
For more on Kiwanga’s keynote and to RSVP, please visit the Eventbrite or UH Better Tomorrow Speaker Series website.
Inouye chair
The Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals, established by the late Senator Daniel Inouye and his wife, is jointly administered by UH Mānoa’s American Studies Department and the William S. Richardson School of Law.
This event is produced in collaboration with Hawaiʻi Contemporary and in partnership with the UH Better Tomorrow Speaker Series, a joint venture of UH Mānoa, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, Kamehameha Schools and UH Foundation.
