Tainted Waters: Art for Truth presented by the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi
September 29 – October 31, 2025
Third Floor Gallery, Honolulu Hale
Opening Event: September 29, 2025, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, in partnership with Hawaiʻi Peoples Fund, Pacific American Foundation, the HŌʻĀ program, Artists + Poets for Clean Water, and the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts is proud to announce the opening of a keiki art exhibition focused on cleaning and protecting our precious wai . The exhibition will be displayed on the third floor of Honolulu Hale, starting on Monday, September 29 through October 31, 2025.
This exhibition showcases the creativity of keiki and ʻōpio from kindergarten through high school, who share their vision for the future of our wai, our communities, and our collective kuleana to steward our islands’ source of life – clean water. . The exhibit also serves as a reminder that the work to fully restore and protect our aquifer and ʻāina is far from over, and calls attention to the ongoing commitments made by government leaders (via the Red Hill WAI) and the community to heal and safeguard our water resources.
As part of the opening of the exhibition, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi will host a press conference on September 28 at 2:30pm at Honolulu Hale to highlight a community pledge for the continued protection and healing of Hawaiʻi’s water resources. The event will feature keiki artwork from the Tainted Waters art contest as a backdrop, alongside community members representing an intergenerational commitment to safeguarding our water. Speakers will include Wayne Tanaka, Director of Sierra Club, Tommy Waters, Council Chair & District IV Councilmember and Ernie Lau, Manager and Chief Engineer of the Board of Water Supply. “With our aquifer still contaminated, and likely to be contaminated for decades into the future, we must pledge to always remember, and to help our keiki remember, that it is on all of us – government and community leaders and everyday folks – to keep on pushing for the healing and protection of our most precious resource” – Wayne Tanaka, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi director.
For more information, please visit the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi website.
