Art at Thomas Square
Art at Thomas Square is Hawai‘i’s only rotating temporary public art program, designed to spark creativity and expand sculptural expression in the public realm. As part of the city’s vision to revitalize Thomas Square Park, this initiative invites O‘ahu-based artists to engage with the site’s layered history while offering thought-provoking perspectives on the present and future. Established on December 30, 2020, the program transforms the park into a dynamic platform for contemporary art, ensuring that new voices and ideas continually engage the space. Each temporary installation remains on view for approximately two years, with previous rotations featuring Bernice Akamine (2020), Sean Connelly (2020), Kamran Samimi (2022), and Kat Kazlaukaz (2022). The current rotation features sculptures by Marques Hanalei Marzan (2025) and Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum (2025).
Kauikamauliola (2025) by Marques Hanalei Marzan
On view now
This sculpture honors the history of Thomas Square Park and uplifts the mana of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Inspired by the practice of kōkō puʻupuʻu, knotted carrying nets, the artwork features a haka, ten-foot tall suspension post, and copper and stainless steel kōkō. Customarily used to safeguard food and precious belongings, the kōkō now symbolically hold the park’s stories as a wahi pana, a storied place, and symbolizing protection and sustenance.
E Hoʻi I KE EA (2025) by Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum
On view now
Though King Kamehameha ʻEkolu and Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea are widely celebrated, many early Native Hawaiian leaders remain unrecognized. Taum honors Kākuhihewa, an Oʻahu chief who fostered peace long before the Hawaiian Kingdom. The sculpture links past and present through reclaimed ʻōhiʻa and a weathered steel sheath, referencing the Kūkalahale wind that once fluttered the Hae Hawaiʻi in 1843.
