Public can learn about preservation of kapa at Hamilton Library open house

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Teri Skillman, (808) 956-8688
Library Services
Lynn Davis, 956-8539
Director, Preservation, Hamilton Library Preservation Department
Posted: Apr 30, 2014

Moana Eisele, at left, and Mary Wood Lee stabilize cultural materials in Hulihee Palace.
Moana Eisele, at left, and Mary Wood Lee stabilize cultural materials in Hulihee Palace.

The Hamilton Library Preservation Department on the UH Mānoa campus is partnering with the Daughters of Hawaiʻi on a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-funded project to stabilize cultural materials in Hulihee Palace that were damaged by the 2011 tsunami.

At an open house at Hamilton Library from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, 2014, the community is invited to see the kapa and learn about the work being done to care for it. The project consultants, kapa maker Moana Eisele and paper conservator Mary Wood Lee, as well as Preservation Department staff will be on hand to answer questions.

All of the kapa is large, and several will be showcased in the Preservation Department during the Hamilton Library open house. The smallest (76” x 96”) kapa has applied designs similar to Hawaiian quilt patterns in green, yellow, pink and blue.  Another kapa that will be displayed was used by Queen Kapiʻolani as curtains for Hulihee Palace, which is located in Kailua-Kona on the Island of Hawaiʻi. At 2 p.m., Eisele will demonstrate how kapa is made.

For more information, visit: http://library.manoa.hawaii.edu/