Hawaii State Art Museum

Super Relaxing Experience.
The museum is very well kept.
The employees very Friendly and helpful.
The snack bar and gift shop are very nice.
My only complaint is parking.
There is none offered, nor validation.
BUT.The admission is FREE so that’s all Good!
I parked over in the Bishop building and it was only $ 5.
Very beautiful examples of Hawaiian art and culture.
Don’t miss sculpture garden.
Pictures, no flash, are allowed!

I love museums! And I love this one. Admission is free! Grounds are nicely kept and building and bathrooms are clean. Lots of art work inside the galleries upstairs and outside in the sculpture garden. Spent over an hour wandering around and stopped to read about the ones that I found interesting. The pieces range from old Hawaiian to very contemporary. Come and learn a bit about the history of the islands and the people. Lovely place to contemplate and calm down.

Beautiful and neat art museum with artwork by local artists featuring Hawaiian people and culture. The sculpture garden is small but very peaceful! Very impressive for something that is free.

The 5 stars are for the hands-​on kids area of the museum (we haven’t explored the other areas yet). My 4 yr old loves it here! There are chairs for parents and it’s nice and air conditioned. Lots of different toys and books (fun and educational!) to keep the children engaged… We spent about an hour in here with my son playing non-​stop.
We come here during the week (they’re closed on Mondays) and open at 10am. He’s usually the only child playing in there so he gets excited when other kids pop in to join him.
I highly recommend coming here with your kids. Oh, and did I mention that it’s FREE?

Here you’ll discover BEAUTIFUL artwork by artists and historians like Herb Kawainui Kane, Lionel Walden, and Sidney T.K. Yee.
The lady at the front desk gave a warm welcome and gave us directions to the artwork on the second floor and the sculpture garden. The place has a peaceful atmosphere.
Left me wishing I could take a few paintings home with me to hang on my wall to admire everyday. I would visit this place again in the future. It’s also family friendly with a room for kids to play with building blocks and learn about shapes, lines, colors, and texture.
Admission is Free :)
Parking can be hard to find though. You might score curb parking on Punchbowl Street, Richards St., or around Aliiolani Hale. 1 Hour Metered Parking.
Catching the bus or being dropped off to the Hawaii State Art Museum would be best so you wouldn’t have to worry about finding parking or being towed if you get caught up in an art piece.

It’s free. You get to see beautiful pieces of art in a historic building for free. They have amazing first friday events here where you can make your own artwork… for free.
That is all.

This is one of my favorite spots in downtown. I come here to study sometimes, or just to take a random stroll. Every month there is a new exhibition on the second floor on the right wing. I highly recommend coming here if not regularly to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, then at least once every month to check out what they have featured for the month.
There’s also a café and gift shop for locals and tourists to all enjoy. Very historical building, and great venue for many events. There’s an outdoor area too, which is actually one of my favorite places to relax when I am there. Entrance is free, but they do accept donations in order to maintain the museum so that everyone can continue to have a good experience upon visiting.

By far one of the best art museum I have ever visited. Indoor and outdoor, the place is great (including their bathrooms, gorgeous and clean!) It is free which is even better, but that doesn’t matter because it is truly kept up and a great place to visit. Must see.
Directions: The museum is located at the corner of Richards and Hotel Street in downtown Honolulu, on the 2^nd floor of the No. 1 Capitol District Building.
Well worth a visit.

Hard to believe this little gem exists next door to the District Court building. Its a bit small, and very quiet and you can probably spend your lunch hour wandering around. The back has an outdoor court yard area which is a nice place to chill. My son sometimes goes there to study. Did I mention the best part about this place? FREE admission, but keep in mind they are closed on Mondays.
They also have a nice café called the Grand Café & Bakery. Quiet and very low key.

Nice little museum located in the middle of downtown. Quiet and you could make it through in probably an hour. There is a nice mix of various art types and really is very interesting to see all the different artists and pieces together. I always love all the colors and seeing the unique ways people portray Hawaii and its culture and colors.

The HiSAM (HI State Art Museum) is my one of my favorite places to appreciate art and music on First Fridays. My first impression of the building’s architecture evoke an image of a graceful and elegant white villa located somewhere in the Mediterranean. The building and grounds are simply beautiful; it’s clean, modern and you will find many gorgeous curves and arches tastefully accentuate the classy place. I think the museum stand so majestically against the backdrop of that massive green lawn. Plus the lanai on the second floor offers amazing views of our mauka skyline during the sunset hours.

Many locals have yet to step foot on this property. This building belongs to the people of Hawaii (admission free at all times) since Hawaii was the first state in the country to implement the APP law. The APP (Art in Public Places) Program was created in 1967 so this law would take 1% of the construction costs of new buildings to be used for the acquisition of art works, by commission or purchase. I thanked the State of Hawaii, the City and County of Honolulu!
There are 4 galleries in the building — the Diamond Head Gallery, the Ewa Gallery, the Sculpture Lobby, and the Sculpture Garden. Every time I’ve been to this museum, I’m so impressed with the art exhibits showcasing local artists or musicians. I could spend more than an few hours walking around and admiring so many cool and modern art pieces at this museum. I especially enjoyed the Hawaiian art, sculptures and koa bowls. In addition, they’ve student art exhibitions, a downtown noontime lunch and learn, and many interactive classes throughout the year. HiSAM is a learning laboratory for students in grades 2 – 6 in public and charter schools.
HiSAM hosts a visual or musical performance on the First Friday of each month and it’s usually held on the upper lanai. Chairs are set up for the public but once in awhile, they can run out. People are allowed to bring their own chairs, mats, food or drinks. What more can you ask of a museum? I mean they let you BYOBeverage, BYOWine, and BYOFood. Drinks and food are not allowed inside the galleries though.
So having been able to attend this month’s star-​studded evening of jazz, I had an awesome time enjoying art and jazz at the HiSAM with my friends. This annual jazz celebration was fantastic with the following talents: Chris Vandercock, Al Harrington, Starr Kalahiki, Sherry Graham, Ginai and the Chuck James Trio. There was also a special guest performance by poet/​American Book Award recipient Kathryn Waddell Takara. I hope to see and hear them next year again. Hana hou!

Free, incredible and diverse range of art, right on the #3 bus line, most local artists if not all, friendly front desk person!
Other Unilocal reviews say that you can get through this place in 30 minutes to an hour. Um. Not if you’re actually looking at the pieces! The Sculpture Garden was beautiful. I wish the pool had been filled when we went! I also wish I could see it at night. It looks like they can turn on lights that would shine on the glass covering. One of my favorites in the garden and in the gallery were the copper sculptures. I also really liked the Chinatown paintings.
We had the most fun in the children’s room because we’re grown up 22 year olds like that. They had plastic tubes, blocks, tessellation plastic shape thingys you can put together to make different things. On the walls were interesting art advice about using colors and textures, and they analyzed a few of the gallery pieces to give examples.
I hope to come back for a First Friday!

THE best place to view contemporary art in Hawaii. And free! Can’t complain about that.

They actually have a nice food place here. It opens at 11am and its called Grand Café & Bakery. It’s located on the first floor and the view is beautiful with the renovated outdoor garden area as a view.
Very friendly service, good for people who live in downtown area. But if you work and want lunch quick, i rather not come here. It’s a sit-​in kinda deal. But I think you can try to order a take out, I’ve never tried.

The children’s room at the HISAM (Hawaii State Art Museum) is really great to have. Here is a way to sum up what would be needed to teach for 8 years of Art education in a normal public school. Going over simple topics like feel, shape and color and perception are so important and presented very well in such a small space.
Yes the children’s room at the HISAM is so small that I don’t think a normal classroom could fit in it or the children in it but that really should be the way that art is experienced– in small groups by small manipulatives in a cozy space. It is smallllllll.
There are tables and centers– much like a preschool classroom but organized and pointed to make learning productive.
There are small books that give a broad general perspective on truly great artists. Those books are well thought out and written to give young students experience recognizing art and learning what it is that makes real art great.
I wish there was a docent there to help children– it would be a great opportunity for a Head Start or Kamaiana Kids to interact with the community and teach about art. But I digress.
There are some weekend events– music on the lawn, family days that have an art project that families can do together like lithographs for example. I have been to a few art exploration presentations done by DOE art guest teachers that bring art into the classroom. There done in the open space area on the second floor and are usually under-​publicized– compared to their worth and value. There really are many free open art opportunities at HISAM.
My favorite painting at HISAM is the Tahitian Boats over the ocean with Big Island Pele lighting up both the night sky and ocean.
Other than the boat scene– there are few paintings that I would ever recognize. Many of the works are not by famous artists (that I know of). Some are Pacific Islanders and I agree it is important to show art from other places other than Western places. Some are modern art pieces– without context I don’t think anyone can relate to or enjoy.
Overall– a good day– I would not recommend it to tourists as it is small. I would promote different events to friends and let them know that they can help their children learn about art in the keiki room.
What would I like to see? The childrens room continued– make another room for older children with either the same themes or use the art in the HISAM as the teaching tools so that people can enjoy HISAM better.
Price– free. But it is small and parking could cost you a pretty penny. So free isn’t always free. Take the bus and leave your bag with the guard before going in– but again– be warned it is a small museum that isn’t an Art Inst of Chicago.

I guess you get what you pay for. This museum is free and I can see why. There is only one floor of art here and it’s less than stellar. It was downright disappointing. I know they have events here which I didn’t get to go to but I was really disappointed by the art here. Do yourself a favor, go to a real art museum, The Honolulu Museum of Art. Yes you have to pay $ 10 to get in, but their exhibits are amazing, world class even. You’ll get to see some real art.

Surprisingly large galleries on the second floor of a lovely historic building also home to government offices. Lots of artwork from local or locally-​influenced artists you likely haven’t heard of. And free!
All artworks have accompanying signage with a good amount of information, but no gallery plan/​map (it’s easy enough to figure out). Not a lot of amenities — I saw more security guards than docents, but if you ask questions of the people staffing the desks, they can tell you some things about the galleries and art. You just have to work a little harder, but again, it’s free!
For the keiki, there’s a Please DO Touch the Art room with tables and blocks and tiles and a texture wall, things to give fidgety kids an outlet. Sculpture garden outside in the courtyard. SUPER-​spendy gift shop downstairs next to the café. More a fashion/​gift boutique than an art-​museum gift shop; I was expecting the kind of place to buy postcard prints of the art on display.
If you want the O’Keefes and other names you know, along with a well-​curated collection of pan-​Asian art, films, and special exhibits, go the Honolulu Art Museum.
If you’re on a lunch break downtown, come here. It’s a lovely and tranquil place to lose yourself among art for an hour. The art is less familiar but no less real. Huge variety — ceramics, textiles, prints, watercolors, sculpture, etc.
If you live here, it’s worth the visit, especially if you find yourself downtown. If you’re here on vacation, it’s worth the visit for something that is a little less touristed and a lot more real-​life-​Hawaii.

This is a little gem that many of the locals have not even visited. Thank you City and County of Honolulu for providing the permanent and temporary exhibits for FREE to all who visit.
On a warm walk around the city be sure to stop by and visit this free museum that displays art work from a variety of artists. A high concentration are Hawaiian artists as it is reflected in their exhibited work. I loved the Asian shirt that was sewn onto a map… showing the diversity and distance of the people… very interesting, wish I could remember the name of the artist so I could give them credit.
While walking around all of the downtown area take a few steps over to Hotel Street (across from the Capitol) and into an air-​conditioned haven of contemplation.

I accidentally stumbled across the Hawaii State Art Museum. While the exhibits are relatively small compared to museums in Los Angeles, I appreciated the fact that there was no charge for admission. It was nice to browse the collections and I liked how they had pieces which really reflected the different cultures which make up Hawaii.
The food smelled really good, but I had to leave since my parking was expiring. I hope to come back soon and try out the small café.

Review #300!
Privileged to have had the recent opportunity to partake in a guided tour of some prominent pieces at HiSAM. Free: One of the best deals in town!
Facts I was not aware of:
1) Building was originally called the Royal Hotel, opening in 1872.
2) Was converted to a YMCA in 1917.
3) Became a military housing installation during WW1.
4) In 1967, Hawaii became the first state in the nation to implement a Percent for Art law. The Art in State Buildings Law established the Art in Public Places Program and designated one percent of the construction costs of new public schools and state buildings for the acquisition of works of art, either by commission or by purchase.
Quite a stunning building positioned glamorously near ‘Iolani Palace and the HI State Capital. Peaceful feeling in the heart of the business district. Interior ceiling reminiscent of those in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
These pieces showcase the array of Hawaiian art by many artists still living and thriving today. The highlight of the day was seeing Herb Kawainui Kane’s dramatic, «The Discovery of Hawai’i». Stunning examples of his use of vertical movement and light/​dark color play. Also memorable was Madge Tennent’s «Two Sisters of Old Hawai’i», showcasing impressionistic influences similar to van Gogh’s «Starry Night».
A quite extensive look at the diverse influences Hawai’i and its people has (and is still having) on artists or those keen enough to express their sometimes divine inspirations.