In an exciting and vibrant fusion of creativity and education, McKinley High School and its Art Department collaborated with the Honolulu Museum of Art to give McKinley student artists an opportunity to display their work with their own exhibit in the museum.

 This exhibit, in addition to revealing the skillful artistry of the MHS students, pays homage to the alum that heavily influenced the Modernism Art Movement in Hawai’i, as well as fostered a deeper gratitude amongst people toward its roots. 

The exhibit runs to Jan.12, 2025. General admissions cost $25, $15 for kama’aina, and free for members of the museum and kids age 18 and under. It is open on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm and Friday until 9 p.m.

Home of the Tigers:

How It Happened 

The “Home of the Tigers” exhibit began when the Honolulu Museum of Art found a common thread between multiple substantial-artists originating from Hawai’i: all graduated from McKinley High School. The artists are Satoru Abe, Raymond Han, Ralph Iwamoto, Imaikalani Kalahele, Keichi Kimura, Robert Kobayashi and John Chin Young. The exhibit also recognized their teachers: Minnie Fujita, Charles Higa and Shirley Russell.

Eren Star Padilla, an art teacher at MHS and a life-long artist, was involved in getting the ball rolling on this event. She met the curators the year before at an art show she had done in Waikiki with her students called Young Contemporaries.

“Just through luck and me being in the art scene community, I met the people who run that organization and we got involved highlighting our McKinley students,” Padilla said.

Padilla began this process by getting together with the museum. 

“They originally wanted to do a mural for ‘Home of the Tigers’ but as a teacher here at McKinley, I wanted to make sure that all the students and teachers had an equal opportunity,” Padilla said. 

Padilla emphasized it took months of planning and effort to put the show together for the students, which included planning meetings, having a call for artists, teachers giving their students assignments for the art show, and sorting out favorite art pieces with the museum. 

“Initially, we had over 200 submissions and once we narrowed it down, I worked hard with the events coordinator for the opening reception, Pillar Kirk, and she helped me put it together,” Kristi Auyong, another MHS art teacher, said. 

Auyong made sure HoMA had all they needed for a successful opening reception, all the names for the performances, the equipment, and made sure to remind all the students to attend with their families,

 “It turned out to be a super positive opportunity for the kids,” Padilla said. “I am so pleased with the outcome of all our hard work.”

The Home of the Tigers exhibit debuted with an opening reception on Sept. 26, where students, teachers and family members were invited to see the different works of art by the MHS students of today, and the artists that graduated long ago. 

Principal Ron Okamura attended the opening reception of the exhibit. 

“It is mind-boggling to think that here we are, seeing the past of McKinley High School’s art and artists and then we also come up to the future with students who are doing art now,” Okamura said. “People often ask how I get my students to come out. A lot of times, students find art museums kind of boring, but this exhibit has given them a purpose to explore it.” 

Leialoha Orta (c/o 2025), who has an art piece of hers featured in the student portion of the exhibit, was one of many students who attended the opening reception.

“Everyone at the reception was so nice and the artwork was so beautiful. You could really tell what each artist was trying to say,” Orta said. “I get to create my work in front of these people that have actually done a lot for us, it truly is an honor.” 

Padilla had finished her visit to the opening reception in high spirits at the impact of this event.

“Having a partnership with HOMA is a beautiful thing. The first opening reception had the jazz band from our school performing and many students and staff members were invited,” Padilla said. “It felt really special that they were going above and beyond to make us feel welcome. I am so emotional at having been really, truly honored.” 

Home of the Tigers: 

The Professional Exhibit 

The professional exhibit brings together the artwork of seven of the most influential artists to Hawai’i, who graduated from McKinley throughout the 1920s to the 1960s. This exhibit delves into the impact of McKinley High School alone on visual art in Hawai’i. 

Imaikalani Kalahele, a highly regarded artist, writer and activist was one of the artists featured in the professional exhibit. 

“It’s an honor first of all to be showing with the likes of the artists that are there, because they were like the movers and the shakers when I was growing up in the Modern Art Movement growing up in Hawai’i, and the fact that I got to exhibit with two of my Kumu, Charlie Higa and Minnie Fujita, was so rewarding,” he said. 

Kalahele discussed his culture as a primary motivation for his art. 

“I really started to understand how important McKinley was to Hawai’i’s growth of the visual artist community when this show came out,” he said. 

Kalahele was in awe at the relevance his fellow artists have maintained throughout the years. 

“To be able to walk through the exhibit and realize these pieces that are over 50, 60 years old are still fresh and modern, and they still provide insight to today after all these years,” Kalehele said. “It was something I never thought would happen, but thanks to this exhibit, it did and I am really glad about that.”

Okamura was excited at the influential people that come out of MHS, giving him a sense of pride for being principal. 

“It’s always been interesting to me, you have so many leaders that come out of McKinley, but you don’t think about the artists and how famous these guys are. Not only in Hawaii but around the world,” Okamura said. 

“I encourage everybody to come out and take a look because this is something right across the street from us!”

Dwayne Sakaguchi, a social studies teacher at MHS, centered on the historical relevance of the professional exhibit, each artist contributing a unique perspective to the show.

“My experience at the exhibit was very fulfilling, it was nice to see artwork created by such historical people from McKinley High School,” Sakaguchi said. 

“It was very thoughtful that they were able to include asian immigrants that came to Hawaii to honor the migration period, because it was such a political turn in Hawaii during WW2 and what not.” 

Padilla shared Sakaguchi’s enthusiasm for this aspect of the exhibit, taking note of its layout, the historical references from the war, the education, and who the artists were as people and as artists. 

Padilla underlined the showing of other artworks that are concurrent with the ‘Home of the Tigers’ theme of the MHS exhibit, one having East-Asian scrolls of tigers displayed.

Sakaguchi showed a great appreciation for receiving much recognition and commendation as a school. 

“I do think the fact that one of our state’s more prominent museums is honoring people that are from here, and to be someone that works in such a historical place, it just gives me a very impactful feeling,” Sakaguchi said. “It makes me feel proud to teach here because we are represented.” 

Home of the Tigers: 

Student Work

The art exhibition held at the Honolulu Museum of Art sparked a turning point for the McKinley students selected to showcase their artistry in their section of the exhibit. 

Shanna Nguyen (c/o 2025) had her art included in the exhibit.

“This opportunity feels unreal because I have never thought of myself as an artist,” Nguyen said. “I have always liked art but I never thought I was good enough to be displayed, so when they emailed me, I was so ecstatic!” 

Padilla had several of her students’ artwork chosen to be displayed in the student exhibit. 

“I know that for people, especially young people, they need a chance to express themselves, they need a voice,” Padilla said. “Sometimes, it’s not always their physical voice that they can use, they use things like visual art that truly activates human expression.”

HoMA included the work of Audrey Tajiri (c/o 2025), who said she struggled to create her art piece on account of not consistently painting.

“It took me a while to think of the details of the design and everything but it all came together really well,” Tajiri said. “It makes me feel very accomplished because of the energy I put into it.” 

 Orta was excited at receiving this opportunity, as she had always wanted to do art as a kid. 

“It is such a privilege to be displayed in the museum, especially because so few were selected,” Orta said. “My art being showcased is kind of nerve wracking, I’ve heard a lot of feedback on it and it’s surprising how many talk to me about it. It’s a really good feeling to actually be recognized.”

Orta discussed the meaning of the artwork the museum chose, saying it was a sequel to a art piece which was meant to show growth and how things change. 

“The person looking out into the sunset is supposed to represent us looking out into our future and what is beyond us as our years at McKinley are coming to an end,” Orta said. 

She went further into the inspiration behind these art pieces, recounting a story her father had told her about her mom passing away. 

“The little boy was actually meant to represent my dad,” Orta said. “He looked out the window and took everything in and he knew that regardless all of those things happening, time moves on. You can’t give up.”  

Home of the Tigers:

Aftermath

The Home of the Tigers exhibit presented a range of student and professional artwork. This experience provided a platform for self-expressivity, allowing students to explore and articulate different ideas through their work, and even delve into the different opportunities art can provide. The exhibit also allowed for public exposure of their work through the collaborative nature of this project. 

“It did not stop at the exhibit either, recently we had a field trip to the exhibit where students participated in hands-on art-making activities, and then on top of it, they also offer scholarships for kids to take classes at the museum school,” Padilla said. “I know of many students interested in taking these classes, and some have already received scholarships. We have a really good ongoing relationship with HoMA.”

Recently, MHS was the subject of a family day at the Honolulu Museum of Art, where different school groups had the chance to perform for their families. Auyong was one of the leading organizers for this event as well.

“I had to find who was interested first in order to put this event together, and a lot of people reached out,” she said. 

Auyong had the help of many other people. 

“The music department, theatre, chorus, cheer, as well as the dance club and the spoken word students were all really great performers and did an amazing job of capturing even more of McKinley’s ability,” Auyong said. 

The exhibit increased Nguyen’s  appreciation for the arts, and she encourages others to do the same. 

“I am starting to love art museums even more now, I feel art completes humanity in many ways,” she said. 

Sakaguchi acknowledged how interesting it is to have such a broad scope of different perspectives about McKinley. 

“There are many differing views about MHS, many people are against us because of how we came to be as a school due to William McKinley’s role in the annexation of Hawaii,” he said. 

Padilla emphasized the positive effects in how the community views McKinley High School by highlighting the diverse selection of creative output made by students. 

“We are actually showing not only McKinley High School students, but the youth in general that you can have a career in the arts, it’s a real education,” she said. “I love my school, and I think events like these just continue to amplify our importance in the community, our world, and how good of a school we truly are.”