On Saturday, August 17, 2019, a collaborative exhibition will open at the Hawaiʻi State Library’s downtown branch. “The Promise of Statehood: Looking Back, Moving Forward” explores Hawaiʻi’s complicated journey to statehood as a means of considering what kind of community we are in the process of becoming. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of statehood, how might we envision the next 60 years? The exhibition features never before seen artifacts and documents from the collection of U.S Senator Daniel K. Inouye, as well as photos and archival materials from the Hawai‘i State Library and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawai‘i Congressional Papers Collection. Also featured is “The State of Aloha,” a documentary on the 50th anniversary of statehood, produced at the Academy for Creative Media, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, that still strikes a highly relevant chord. Interactive exhibition elements, produced in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities, invites visitors of all ages to consider not only our past, but our collective future. The exhibit is located in the Hawai‘i State Library on 478 South King Street, and is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Saturday (for more specific hours, please visit www.librarieshawaii.org.) Following its closing on September 14, 2019, a smaller traveling version of the exhibition will head to Kauaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. For more information on the exhibition, please contact Noelle Kahanu, nmkahanu@hawaii.edu.

This exhibition and related programming was developed in partnership withthe Daniel K. Inouye Institute, the Hawai‘i State Public Library System, the Hawai‘iCouncil for the Humanities, and the following University of Hawai‘i at Mānoadepartments: American Studies, Academy for Creative Media, and the HawaiʻiCongressional Papers Collection, UH Mānoa Library (Papers of Daniel K. Inouye)

All programs are subject to change. If you require an auxiliary aid or accommodation due to a disability, please contact the library at least 7 days before the program date.