A his­toric new art instal­la­tion, ʻUmeke Lāʻau (Cul­ture Med­i­cine) by Native Hawai­ian artist Melean­na Aluli Mey­er, has been unveiled at Hon­olu­lu Hale (city hall) as part of Hawaiʻi Tri­en­ni­al 2025: Alo­ha Nō (HT25). Unlike tra­di­tion­al ʻumeke (cal­abash­es) that are small ves­sels for food, water, and sacred offer­ings, this tow­er­ing 22-foot-wide, 8‑foot-tall wood­en struc­ture reimag­ines the form as a sym­bol of heal­ing, reflec­tion, and soci­etal repair. Cre­at­ed in col­lab­o­ra­tion with Hon­olu­lu Com­mu­ni­ty Col­lege car­pen­try stu­dents and the Uni­ver­si­ty of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s art and the­atre pro­grams, the immer­sive instal­la­tion invites vis­i­tors to step inside, remove their shoes, and reflect on themes of cul­ture, his­to­ry, and trans­for­ma­tion.

More than just an art piece, ʻUmeke Lāʻau serves as a trib­ute to the Native Hawai­ians and Hawaiʻi cit­i­zens who opposed the U.S. annex­a­tion of Hawaiʻi in 1897. Built-in speak­ers with­in the struc­ture play the names of over 38,000 indi­vid­u­als who signed the Kūʻē Peti­tions, includ­ing Melean­na’s grand­fa­ther, Noa Web­ster Aluli. The record­ings, voiced by UH Mānoa Hawai­ian The­atre fac­ul­ty and stu­dents, ensure that these his­tor­i­cal fig­ures are remem­bered and hon­ored. Accord­ing to Tam­my Hail­iʻōpua Bak­er, founder of the Hawai­ian the­atre pro­gram, the expe­ri­ence of read­ing ances­tral names into the micro­phone was deeply mov­ing and rein­forced the per­son­al and col­lec­tive sig­nif­i­cance of the instal­la­tion.

The project was made pos­si­ble through the efforts of many hands, includ­ing UH Mānoa artist-in-res­i­dence Melean­na Aluli Mey­er, Hon­olu­lu CC car­pen­try stu­dents, and local artists such as new­ly appoint­ed UH Mānoa assis­tant pro­fes­sor Kaʻili Chun. Described as an art­work that “feeds” not just phys­i­cal­ly but spir­i­tu­al­ly and cul­tur­al­ly, ʻUmeke Lāʻau offers a rare immer­sive expe­ri­ence where vis­i­tors can engage with its mean­ing first­hand. The instal­la­tion will be on dis­play at Hon­olu­lu Hale through May 4 before trav­el­ing to oth­er loca­tions, ensur­ing its mes­sage of resilience and heal­ing reach­es broad­er audi­ences.