Mayor’s Office of
Culture & the Arts
Ke Ke‘ena Mo‘omeheu a me ka Pāheona
Bringing our community together through culture and the arts.
The Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA) was founded in 1971 after the passage of the Percent for Art law in 1967 that established the Art in City Buildings Program. The mission of MOCA is to provide equal and abundant opportunity for exposure to culture and the arts in all its form.
Join the Huaka‘i
Wahi Pana:
Storied Places
Wahi Pana is a temporary public art project of the City and County of Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA) and is a winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge grant.
Beginning February 2025, the project will feature art installations across the island of O‘ahu that connect each site with their indigenous, Native Hawaiian mo‘olelo (stories).
Upcoming Events
Announcements
Art in City Buildings
The Art in City Buildings collection consists of more than 1,100 objects moveable and permanent Public works of art from monuments to murals, paintings to plaques, and a variety of sculptures that are displayed in City facilities and recreational parks. Explore the collection here.
Modular #5 (1970)
by J. Halley Cox
Community Murals
Interested in creating a community mural on City & County of Honolulu managed property? The Commission on Culture and the Arts reviews proposals in terms of its design, implementation, placement and appropriateness with the existing architecture, landscape, interior design, grounds and facilities.
Art at Thomas Square
Art at Thomas Square is a public park space for contemporary art installations by O‘ahu-based artists to reevaluate the present and ruminate on the future. Sculptures by Marques Hanalei Marzan and Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum are on view now.
E Hoʻi I kE EA (2025)
Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum
On view now
MOCA awarded BlooMBERG Philanthropies Public art Challenge GRant
City and County of Honolulu is among eight winning cities of the Public Art Challenge, securing a generous grant of $1 million. The City and County of Honolulu project, “Wahi Pana” (Storied Places), will present a series of multimedia art installations on O‘ahu that connect key tourist destinations with their moʻolelo (stories).
