May 18, 2010 – August 8, 2010
Hawaii’s Alfred Shaheen: Fabric to Fashion is a celebration of the legacy of textile designer and master fabric printer Alfred Shaheen, the origins of the Hawaiian print and the fusion fashion aesthetic it spawned. This is the first major retrospective exhibition of Hawaiian textiles and aloha wear manufactured by Alfred Shaheen on the island of Oahu over a 40-year period.

Alfred Shaheen wed technological innovation to socially responsible business practices in the service of revitalizing Pacific Island/Asian textile traditions to forge a fusion fashion design aesthetic now recognized worldwide as a visual marker – not only of a transnational Hawaiian culture – but of a West Coast "American" lifestyle that is informal, environmentally aware, and multi-cultural. A Lebanese immigrant/engineer, Shaheen pioneered a silk-screening method, professionally trained his employees who were Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese and other ethnicities as as Shaheen's City of Craftsmen, and mined the visual iconography of Hawaii's multi-ethnic community to create a new design aesthetic.

Co-curated by Museum curator Deborah Corsini and Hawaiian textile scholar Dr. Linda Arthur, the exhibit will feature 100+ objects drawn from the collection of Camille Shaheen-Tunberg, the artist's daughter. Stunning yardage representing the textile designs Shaheen produced, and key examples of the garments that visually conjure Hawaii's complex cultural history will fill all three of the Museum's main galleries. In addition to textiles, the exhibit will showcase archival photos and ads that illuminate how the textiles and garments were designed, manufactured and marketed.

Hawaii's Alfred Shaheen Gallery Guide available for purchase online.

May 18, 2010 – August 8, 2010
Grand Appliqué: Hawaiian Quilts, features traditional Hawaiian quilts made and designed by master quilter Carol Kamaile and her students. Quilting was introduced to Hawaii in 1820 by missionaries who brought appliqué quilting to the islands. The familiar Hawaiian appliquéd quilt style, known for its graphic, symmetrical designs, nature-inspired imagery and unique construction methods, soon evolved. The tradition is still very much alive today as illustrated by Kamaile’s inspired interpretations of this form.

May 18, 2010 – August 8, 2010
Wendeanne Ke'aka Stitt: Contemporary Kapa is an exhibition of contemporary works by the Santa Cruz artist Wendeanne Ke’aka Stitt that draws inspiration from the Hawaiian kapa cloth tradition. Kapa is a native Hawaiian textile made from the bast fibers of certain species of trees and shrubs. Wendeanne Ke’aka Stitt’s contemporary work keeps this labor-intensive tradition alive in her cloth made of pounded bark from the paper mulberry tree which she combines with quilting to create unique graphic textiles pieces.

Kapa is a native Hawaiian textile made from the bast fibers of certain species of trees and shrubs. The making of kapa largely died out with the advent of commercially available cloth. The artistic beauty of the cloth made of pounded bark from the paper mulberry tree comes to life through the capable hands and vision of Wendeanne Ke’aka Stitt.

Also on view will be a selection of traditional kapa cloths from the Museum’s permanent collection.

These exhibitions and related programs are funded in part by WESTAF, Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Arts Council Silicon Valley in partnership with the County of Santa Clara and the National Endowment for the Arts; the City of San Jose; and the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association.

This exhibition is co-presented by: Hui'Ilima of Santa Clara County, Sak n' Sak, Kawailehua Hula Ohana, Japantown Business Association, Halau Napuaokamokihana'ohaikapolioluana, Yu-Ai Kai Community Senior Service & Sake San Jose, Nikkei Matsuri, Pacific Islanders' Cultural Association