Visual Arts
Create, design, and tell stories through traditional and digital art.
What We Offer
Our visual arts programs blend hands-on techniques with digital tools, giving you the opportunity to create meaningful art rooted in culture and innovation. Whether through painting, fashion, or filmmaking, you’ll build skills and confidence while exploring your creative voice.
Visual Arts Team
Kapena Alapai
Director, Arts and Culture
Kapena Alapai
Director, Arts and Culture
Kapena Alapai is the Director of Arts and Culture at Liliʻuokalani Center, and was born and raised in North Kona, Hawaiʻi Island, with deep roots in Puʻuanahulu and Holualoa. He comes to the Trust after taking part in a 7-year project, ArtChangeUS, working to reframe the national arts conversation by embracing the cultural assets of U.S. demographic change. This unique snapshot into the field shaped Kapena’s understanding of arts and social justice issues amidst a national funding crisis, multiple divisive presidential elections, and ongoing racial injustice.
He returned to Hawaiʻi in 2020, resolved to fulfil kuleana to ʻāina, ʻohana, and kaiāulu, and envision the next generation of artists and culture bearers. With nearly 20 years of dedication to the nonprofit arts and culture sector, He is a committed leader whose career centers on uplifting Hawaiian identity, youth education, and community through creative and cultural practice.
Samuel Guerrero
Program Manager, ʻŌlino Pathways –Visual Arts
Samuel Guerrero
Program Manager, ʻŌlino Pathways –Visual Arts
Sam Guerrero is the Program Manager of ʻŌlino Pathways – Visual Arts at Liliʻuokalani Center. He is an arts educator and youth advocate with over 25 years of experience teaching students from middle school to college. Sam firmly believes in the transformative power of the arts, using it as a means for connection, growth, and inspiration.
He considers it a profound honor to contribute to the legacy of our Queen by making arts opportunities accessible to ʻōpio, helping to nurture creativity and confidence in the next generation.
A maker at heart, Sam’s work has been showcased internationally, yet his greatest joy comes from creating alongside young people. Outside of work, Sam cherishes time with his two children and his partner.
Kaʻiukapu Baker
Arts Instructor
Kaʻiukapu Baker
Arts Instructor
Kaʻiukapu Baker is an Arts Instructor at Liliʻuokalani Center. She is a Kanaka Maoli theatre artist from Kahaluʻu, Oʻahu. Raised in the practice of Hana Keaka, she has performed with Ka Hālau Hana Keaka since 2004. Kaʻiukapu is a graduate of the MFA in Hawaiian Theatre at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Kaʻiukapu has designed costumes for culturally grounded theatre and dance productions of Hawaiʻi, recently those being Joshua Tavares’s MFA thesis production Glitter in the Paʻakai and Dr. Hailiʻōpua Baker’s Puana international tour, forthcoming. Kaʻiukapu is passionate about collaboration within the design process and nurturing relationships with fellow Kanaka Maoli artists in her community. Her ability to infuse traditional elements with contemporary creativity ensures that every design reflects her dedication to authenticity and excellence.
Brennagen Botelho
Youth Engagement Specialist – Makery-Visual Arts
Brennagen Botelho
Youth Engagement Specialist – Makery-Visual Arts
Brennagen Botelho is the Makery/Visual Arts Youth Engagement Specialist for Liliʻuokalani Trust based out of Liliʻuokalani Center.
Nohea Coleman
Arts Instructor
Nohea Coleman
Arts Instructor
Nohea Coleman is a Visual Art Instructor at Liliʻuokalani Center. As a creative, Nohea aims to build community through intentional storytelling rooted in aloha, making art that honors people, identity, land, and kinship. She strives to uplift our lāhui, especially young ʻōiwi artists, empowering them to cultivate and share their unique creative voice with curiosity and abandon.
Previously, Nohea was a member of Nā Leo ʻo Kamakaʻeha and has held several roles in the arts and arts education. She holds an MS in multimedia, photography, and design from Syracuse University, a BA in studio art, sociology, and Native American studies from Dartmouth College, and is a proud graduate of Kamehameha Schools.
Beyond the arts, Nohea is a lifelong learner who grounds her creative spirit in hula, aloha ʻāina, and the joy of exploration — through meaningful connections, reading, and travel.
Connect with us
Ready to join our community and discover your passions? We can’t wait to meet you!