About Us
Project Mission
The ARTS at Marks Garage (Marks)
was founded in 2001 as a result of a City and County
Resolution that provided seed funds to establish an
incubator arts enterprise program. Marks
is a community project that demonstrates culture and
the arts are economically viable and are essential
to the vitality and quality of life in the community.
The ARTS at Marks Garage, a collaborative neighborhood-based
arts center, is a key player in the emerging Honolulu
Culture & Arts District, which is working to create
an aesthetic, social and economic renaissance in historic
downtown Honolulu.
Project Details
Marks current occupant partners
include 8 performing and 4 visual arts organizations
and businesses. These partners are the Hawaii Watercolor
Society, Hawai‘i Craftsmen, Pacific Handcrafters
Guild, PHG Foundation, The Lizard Loft, Hawaii Academy
of Performing Arts, Hawaii Shakespeare Festival, Meader
Arts, Orig Media, LLC, Smash Box Productions Tim Bostock
Productions and Upside-down Dance. These partners
offer diverse resources and work closely with surrounding
neighbors to serve the community, to create a synergy
of economic opportunities, to honor the cultural diversity
and to improve the social infrastructure.
 During
2003, there were 91 arts events that featured 798
artists, performers and organizations as well as 50
educational outreach programs. These events are co-sponsored
by the following entities: Marks
partners, independent artists, curators and directors,
nonprofit visual and performing arts organizations
and K-12 schools throughout the state. Visual art
programs include large and small group shows, children’s
programs, and Hawai‘i artists’ exhibits,
including emerging and established artists. The performing
arts include poetry readings, cabaret, dance, improvisation,
film and song. Over the year, we noticed that there
has been a steady increase in visitors/audience from
an average of 1,400 per month to almost 1,964 per
month. As an arts incubator, the venue has provided
previously unavailable opportunities for emerging
artists to further their careers and meet new artistic
challenges. Gross revenue from the arts programs at
Marks was almost $75,000. Marks
continues to receive limited support from
City and State Government, local and national foundations
and corporations and individuals.
Marks is currently building a model program exemplifying
how culture and the arts can help transform lives
and build community. Our neighborhood census and police
data indicate major incidences of drug abuse, gang
violence and racial tension among the diverse ethnic
groups. The children and their families need tools
and skills to build bridges within the diverse cultures
of this urban environment as well as avenues to connect
to the larger community in surrounding environs. The
arts provide some of the most accessible tools to
achieve success. The ‘Ohana Arts Side-by-Side
program includes master artists who offer lecture
demonstrations and hands-on activities for the housing
residents. These lessons are followed by field trips
to museums, galleries, theatres and arts performances,
not normally accessible to this population. Working
with many in the community to develop these programs
will ensure their appropriateness and effectiveness.
Marks has received much support for the development
of this educational and community building program.
The ARTS at Marks Garage is a project of the Hawai‘i
Alliance for Arts Education. Hawai‘i Alliance
for Arts Education was founded in 1980 as a private
non-profit to champion all arts - dance, music, theatre,
visual arts. The Alliance is the Hawai‘i member
of the national Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education
Network, a major program of the John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. Statewide
membership includes more than 100 organizations and
400 individuals who support the mission and vision
of the Alliance.
Downtown Gallery Walk and First Friday
Individuals, businesses and nonprofits located in
the Chinatown/downtown neighborhood who present art
in their establishments, developed the Downtown Gallery
Walk Map and First Friday event. This community-based
effort includes traditional galleries and museums,
however, some participants bring elements of interest
and surprise to the mix including cafes, building
lobbies, antiques stores and a tattoo parlor. The
range of artists and art presented at the venues is
also diverse and insightful and includes contemporary
western art, multi-ethnic and Hawaiian art, children’s
art, retrospective exhibitions, canoes, tattoos and
bonsai.
With the leadership of The ARTS at Marks Garage these
partners have published a self-guided walking tour
and map. An obvious extension of this daily effort
to attract visitors is a monthly event. After several
months of meetings the group decided to launch First
Fridays- a Downtown Gallery Walk. Each participant
agrees to stay open late (5pm to 9pm) and provide
“value- added” activities that entertain,
educate and celebrate art and art making. Exhibition
opening receptions, demonstrations and lectures, games
and special sales events characterize the activities
each month. First Fridays, launched in May of 2003,
have grown within our community of arts patrons and
is beginning to reach larger audiences. The March
2004 event drew over 800 people to the streets of
downtown Honolulu.
Recognizing the increased numbers of people on the
streets, restaurants and retail businesses in the
area are joining the event in an informal way by offering
food and beverage specials and hosting their own special
events. If a neighborhood establishment has a special
event planned for First Friday we will include this
information in our monthly press release and schedule
of events. We have successfully developed relationships
with several businesses to sponsor the printing of
our map and continue to work cooperatively to increase
visitor traffic to our business and the neighborhood.
We are open:
Tuesday - Saturday 11am-6pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
We are located at:
1159 Nuuanu Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96817
Contact information:
808 521-2903
info@artsatmarks.com
Please check our schedule frequently
for updates and special events.
Click here for a map, directions
and parking information.
Mahalo to our Funders and Supporters
…details coming soon
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