Hoʻākea Source 2026 Grant Awardees


He ʻŌpaka Ka Lani
Jesse Kekoa Kahoʻonei
Ka Moolelo o Ka Makani Kaili Aloha
Manana Paschoal
For A Long Time
Emerson Goo
Traditional Kites of Belau (Palau)
Anthony Watson
AN UNDERGROUND ISLAND
Kera Rasavanh
Honolulu Soundscapes
Alec Singer
Haʻiwāhine
Hāwane Rios
Pilina Aloha: Hula Kiʻi, Kauaʻi, and Beloved Queen Emma
Mauliola Cook
Shapeshifter of Kohala
Boots Lupenui

Shapeshifter of Kohala

Boots Lupenui
2026 Visual Art Grant Recipient

This project is a portrait of a kupua—a supernatural shapeshifter—from the kaʻao, The Legend of Hoamakeikekula. The story lives in the forested lands of Keawewai on Kohala Mountain. Hoamakeikekula is a beautiful young woman of Kohala who journeys through hardship and wonder, guided by dreams, visions, and beings who shift their forms. Through love and birth, her story becomes a source of learning for the people across generations. The ancestors understood kupua as real presences in the world, not metaphors. By painting them in an oil portrait, space is made for them to stand with people again. As the portrait is created, the process is documented in time-lapse and the story is narrated, shared through the YouTube channel Kohala Mountain Stories. This work brings kupua into the present, reminding viewers that lives are still shaped by magic, memory, and the truth held in our stories.


Boots Lupenui is a native Hawaiian artist, musician and storyteller living on Kohala Mountain on the island of Hawai’i. He holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and his paintings have been shown at the Venice Biennale, the Cuban Bienal, and in private collections around the world. He has made two documentaries searching for old, unrecorded songs of Kohala and was awarded a Community Collections Grant through the Library of Congress to further that work. In 2025 he was invited to perform with his band, “The Kohala Mountain Boys” at the Library of Congress and he has also been a featured storyteller on “The Moth” as heard on National Public Radio.

His paintings, storytelling videos and music videos can be seen at his website, bootslupenui.com and his new YouTube channel is called, “Kohala Mountain Stories”. Boots currently resides in Kohala where his family roots run deep as a member of the ubiquitous Lindsey clan known for producing paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys), musicians and mean oxtail soup.