Project banaba - katerina teiwa.

November 4, 2023 - February 19, 2024

The Project Banaba exhibition by Katerina Teaiwa commemorates the history of Banaba Island in the Pacific Ocean, which was destroyed by environmentally devastating phosphate mining during the 20th century. This led to the total relocation of its people in 1945, with the 78th anniversary of their displacement to be observed on Dec. 15, 2023, during the run of the exhibition.

Past Exhibit

November 4, 2023 -
February 19, 2024

Museum Hours

Open Daily
9 am – 5 pm
Closed Thanksgiving
& Christmas Day

Ages

All Ages

Location

J.M. Long Gallery

Image Credit: Banaba/ Ocean Island, central Pacific, early 1900s, British Phosphate Commissioners, National Archives of Australia.

Banabans view their ancestral land, the rock of Banaba, as te aba, “the body of the land, and the body of the people.” This exhibition will involve three interconnected installations exploring how the people and the land of Banaba were viewed and transformed by imperial phosphate mining and global agricultural interests.

In Project Banaba, Banaban scholar and artist Katerina Teaiwa brings together rare historical archives and multimedia works that shed light on this little-known history, and its ongoing impact on Pacific communities. The exhibition is co-curated by Yuki Kihara, Joy Enomoto, Bishop Museum’s Curator of Archaeology Pūlama Lima and Director of Cultural Resources Healoha Johnston, based on Katerina’s archival research, interviews, film, photographs, and performance work, informed by the flows of phosphate rocks, mining workers, and the Banaban people.

Mahalo to our generous supporters that helped make this exhibition possible

Presented by

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Contributing Sponsor

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Media Sponsor

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Sustaining Sponsor

Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Scott Hawaii

Contributing Sponsors

DeeAnn Yabusaki  
Elizabeth Rice Grossman
Lauran Bromley
Omidyar ‘Ohana Fund at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation

Hospitality Sponsor

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Media Sponsor

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Documentation Sponsor

Redefined Media

Food Sponsor

The Aja Group

Additional support provided by

Bloomingdale’s, Kahala Sportswear, and UNIQLO Hawaii

Cover image: Artist Will Barras photographed by Brandon Shigeta. Courtesy of POW! WOW!
Slider images: Artists Kaplan Bunce, Alex Pardee, Kamea Hadar, and Crisselle Mendiola photographed by Brandon Shigeta. All images are courtesy of POW! WOW!
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OPEN DAILY 9 AM – 5 PM

1525 BERNICE STREET
HONOLULU, HAWAI’I 96817

OPEN DAILY 9 AM – 5 PM

1525 BERNICE STREET
HONOLULU, HAWAI’I 96817

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