Art Contest for New Kahala Hotel Veranda Sign Makeover

Calling all Hawaii artists! The Kahala Hotel & Resort needs your creativity and inspiration. In preparation for the upcoming 50th Anniversary, Famous, Fabulous and Fifty, in 2014, the hotel is creating an art-worthy signature sign for their newly remodeled Veranda lounge. And there’s only one catch: The artist must incorporate multi-colored pieces of glass from the famed chandeliers that still hang in the lobby today in the Veranda sign which will be displayed near the entry of the hotel in the iconic lounge that recently underwent a complete makeover.

Each entry should include a sketch of the artist’s idea and an accompanying Artist’s Statement explaining their concept and theme for the project. The entry form should also include the expected cost of materials, and estimated time needed to complete the art project. For more information and a downloadable copy of the Veranda Art Sign Project Entry Form, please visit The Kahala’s website at www.kahalaresort/verandasigncompetiton or email famousfabulousandfifty@kahalaresort.com. Deadline to enter the art design competition is May 1 – July 30, 2012. The artist must be a resident of Hawaii.

The chandeliers were originally designed by Seattle lighting artist Irene McGowan, a mentor to renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly and one of the founders of the Northwest Designer Craftsmen, a guild-type collective of that encouraged high standards of design and craftsmanship in the region. (In the 1950s, McGowan also collaborated with Roland Terry and Pete Wimberley to design and build Canlis Restaurant. McGowan’s copper fixtures are used throughout.)

The Kahala’s iconic “beach glass” chandeliers weigh more than a ton each and set the style for a new décor dubbed at the time, tropic chic. They contained approximately 28,000 multi-colored pieces of Italian fused “beach” glass dangling from bodies of oxidized bronze. The glass was meant to simulate the drift glass found on Hawaii’s beaches, including the beautiful beach fronting The Kahala. The artist used 1,626 pieces of fused chunk glass in the base and 26,580 pieces of fused glass went into the creation of the dangling chandeliers and the matching wall stairway fixtures when it was first created. With this project, the architects, Edward Killingsworth, Jules Brady and Waugh Smith of Long Beach California, established the use of post-and-beam construction on a grand scale that has since become one of Killingworth’s hallmarks.

The winning sketch and sign concept will be chosen by a group of investors and managers led by the hotel’s General Manager, Roseann Grippo. Once the art project is completed, the artist will receive a $1000 cash award for the commission and a complimentary two-night weekend stay at The Kahala with breakfast and dinner included each day. The artwork can be multi-media and three-dimensional, but it must incorporate pieces of art glass from the original chandeliers. The artwork will be unveiled at a celebratory reception in the newly renovated Veranda honoring the artist and the new sign artwork.

The Kahala has a long history of working with international and Hawaii artists. Noted Honolulu painter John Young provided canvases for the lobby and lounge areas and Mary Mayer created more than a 1000 collages for the guest rooms when it first opened in 1964. In the rooms are works by Paul Jacoulet and lobby areas have large scale paintings by Russell Lowery. James Wegner of Seattle created the copper flowers which serve as decorative flower containers for orchids in the main lobby, as well as the stone sculptures in the Maile lounge which represent composites of Polynesian canoes.

“The new artwork signage will grace the hotel and identify one of Honolulu’s most revered meeting places. The Veranda has been the preferred meeting venue for great entertainers, heads of state, and foreign dignitaries for nearly five decades. And it’s one of the best places to have afternoon tea or after-dinner cocktails on the island,” says Grippo. “We want the new Veranda sign to be a work of art by an artist of Hawaii.”

Artists interested in learning more about the artwork signage contest should contact Roseann Grippo at rgrippo@kahalaresort.com. Or visit the web site at www.kahalaresort.com. Entries must be received no later than July 30, 2012.