This “Get to Know at HoMA” series introduces the many people who work behind the scenes, and together, make HoMA the special place it is. 

What is your title, what do you do, and how long have you been working with HoMA?  

I started working here as a server in August of 2001. I then worked in the Doris Duke Theatre from 2003 to 2010 while simultaneously working at the Contemporary Museum Café as a server. I left to open my own restaurant in 2010, and then made the full circle back to the café in 2017 when I was hired as the Restaurant Manager. I am now the Food and Beverage Director and oversee the HoMA Café and Coffee Bar as well as work with several departments in catering needs for functions ranging from new art exhibitions to the theatre’s film festivals. 

What do you like most about your job at HoMA? 

I absolutely love working at the Honolulu Museum of Art for a few reasons. The museum houses some of the most amazing works of art on our planet and to be able to visit these pieces and know that we are all existing under the same roof each day truly makes me happy and constantly inspired. Secondly, the people who I work with are the best. All of my café teammates work very hard and are such dynamic, talented people. We are an ʻohana and look out for each other and help each other while smiling and having fun throughout the day. The people truly can make a place special, and I have been able to work with some of the most passionate folks here in so many different departments. Being around those who do their best is highly motivating for me to also always do my best and to be a team player to accomplish the task at hand–however big or small.

Which piece of art do you like the most and why? 

Lately, Satoru Abe’s, The Wheel, has really been drawing me in. I walk past it a lot and have to do a second take probably every time. It has an ancient and mysterious feel to it. It is very complex and its three-dimensional shape and detail are fascinating. I’ve always been interested in shapes and their alternate meanings and the wheel with its jagged, sharp points and vortex turns the gears of my imagination as I wonder what the artist was thinking about when he created it. I often think that The Wheel is symbolic of the chapters we sometimes painfully pass through in life.

Tell us something not many people would know about you?  

I formed the band Black Square in 2002 shortly after completing an art history course at Leeward Community College. After studying Kazimir Malevich and his infamous non-objectionable artwork, Black Square, I was inspired to apply the same principals and motives to music and named my band in honor of his work and theory. The band has since completed 15 national tours including the cross country Vans Warped Tour, and a tour in Japan. We have also released 5 albums and continue to play regular shows in and around Honolulu.

11.27.19