Dr. Bernard M. Portner, MD

The Honolulu Academy of Arts was founded in 1922 and opened to the public on April 8, 1927. It was the vision of Anna Rice Cooke, a woman born into a prominent missionary family on O‘ahu in 1853. Growing up in a home that appreciated the arts, she went on to marry Charles Montague Cooke, also of a prominent missionary family, and the two settled in Honolulu. In 1882, they built a home on Beretania Street, on the site that would become home to the museum. In 1961, Thurston Twigg-Smith opened an art gallery—the Contemporary Art Center—within the Honolulu Advertiser building, which he owned. The gallery featured work from Twigg-Smith's collection and work by local artists. In 1988, the Twigg-Smith family donated Spalding House, which was built by Honolulu Academy of Arts founder Anna Rice Cooke, to create The Contemporary Museum, a private, nonprofit museum for contemporary art in Honolulu. In 2011, The Contemporary Museum gifted its assets and collection to the Honolulu Academy of Arts and in 2012, the combined museum changed its name to the Honolulu Museum of Art.

Experience dance, theater and music at the Kennedy Theatre, home to the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The program is internationally recognized for its multicultural approach. It incorporates influences from the East and West, and is organized into Asian Theatre, Western Theatre, Design, Youth Theatre, and Dance. Past performances have showcased the talents of both students and visiting professionals in such notable pieces as "Hamlet," "Waiting for Godot" and "Kabuki: The Vengeful Sword."