How HCF is Supporting Arts and Culture
HCF currently provides grant funding in alignment with several of these sector strategies. We are also expanding our support of networks and support to build storytelling and data capacity within the Arts and Culture sector.
Arts Education for Healthy Communities Initiative –In partnership with the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Arts Education for Healthy Communities Initiative increases access to arts education to strengthen opportunities to connect and combat isolation throughout Hawaiʻi. It supports residencies focused on the fine arts targeted to reach participants and communities that experience barriers or challenges to accessing arts education.
ARTS FIRST – As part of its goal of strengthening arts and culture networks that collaborate on shared goals and pursue collective action, HCF helps to convene ARTS FIRST, a network of organizations that work together to ensure all students in Hawaiʻi have access to a high-quality arts education.
Artists in the Schools – In partnership with the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, HCF awards funding to support qualified teaching artists to conduct arts residencies within public and charter schools based on the Fine Arts Standards from the Department of Education.
Artists in Residence – The Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation awards funding to support organization's innovative programs that provide an opportunity for recognized, outstanding artists, including visual artists, writers and musicians, to be in Hawai‘i for long-term residencies that actively involve Hawai‘i-based artists and the community.
Equitable Access Arts & Culture – The Equitable Access Arts & Culture program awards funding to arts and culture nonprofit organizations that currently utilize data and other information to understand access barriers and opportunities, have existing strategies and programs targeted to addressing equitable access, and utilize evaluation to assess the organization’s impact in addressing equitable access.
Indigenous Knowledge and Culture – HCF is committed to perpetuating Indigenous knowledge and culture rooted in this place. By supporting the passing of knowledge across generations, we strengthen connections to ʻāina and community well‑being. Through targeted grantmaking and partnerships, HCF invests in organizations that bridge ancestral knowledge from the past to the present and future - ensuring it endures for generations.