DIVERSE ART CENTER
HIP EDUCATION

When you think of Honolulu, the first thing that comes to mind is not likely to be Hip hop. Nicole Kealoha’s dream is to change that. She’s doing this by teaching kids to express themselves through Hip hop with art, dance, and music classes at the Diverse Art Center.

Why Hip hop? Nicole, a locally born, Castle High grad, realizes that the rhythm of today’s world bumps with a hip hop baseline. Whether it be through music, media, fashion, or art, none of us can deny that we experience an aspect of Hip hop culture daily, she explains. It’s embedded in our lifestyles. That’s why for kids these days it comes naturally. Unlike oil painting or ballet, our youngest generations are already engaged in it. Nicole is trying to teach kids to utilize that engagement toward positive expression and personal growth.

Today’s teens are cramped within a society that is booming with Hip hop culture and yet implying negative connotations onto the products it creates. Nicole wants to bring those kids off the streets tagging and into the classroom creating work that will be appreciated and that they can be proud of. She emphasizes that while some of these kids may be restless in a history class, doodling or tapping out a beat, that’s only because the ways that they know how to express themselves are being oppressed. Nicole says that we can empower them by nurturing those expressions as well as by giving them opportunities for the future. “These kids could be making money one day with the talent they have!” She exclaims.

From the beginning of the Diverse Art Center, which has been open for just over a year now, Nicole has dreamt of hosting a Hip hop festival. Finally, she is ready to do it. The festival, which is called Ka La Ho’okuku Pahiahia, meaning “Art Wars” in Hawaiian, will be hosted on Saturday, February 27th. The all day event will be the first of what Nicole hopes to be an annual happening. This year it will be held at the Diverse Art center, located on Queen street, although Nicole hopes that each year the festivities will grow until eventually the center will be much too small.

The event will feature an epic aerosol competition between some of Honolulu’s best graffiti artists as well as a canvas art competition, both judged by big name local artists, East 3, Prime, Quest, and Mox. It will also feature B-boy breakdancing “crew-on-crew” battles and an MC battle. Of course, you’ll also be able to find local food vendors and clothing vendors such as Prolifik and Free Lance.

The event will no doubt be the first of its kind in Honolulu. It will serve as an all around good time, as well as a way to get the word out about the Diverse Art Center and gain enrollment.

Right now the Diverse Art Center offers classes in Urban Art, Hip hop dance, Belly dance, Break dance, Jazz dance, beat boxing, DJing, and even special needs classes. The classes are open to all ages, although the approximate 25 students that they have enrolled now average ages 16 and 17. Classes range from $20 to $200 dollars a month. Nicole admits, however, that the majority of students are on scholarship. That makes paying the rent a constant struggle, but Nicole knows that it’s not about the money for her. She admits that she hasn’t had any business education and that when she first started dreaming up the center two years ago people told her it would never work. She went for it anyway, because she knew it was what she wanted to do with her life.

Nicole’s ultimate goal is to kindle a Hip hop culture in Honolulu, “not a subculture, because I want it to be more than that.” she says. “I want it to become a bridge where people from the mainland- producers, artists, people that are looking for talent, will come here…” Clearly, this is just the beginning of the Diverse Art Center. Nicole has big dreams, and judging by the spunk of this young, hapa dancer, there’s no stopping her.

Story by Sarah Burke
Images courtesy Diverse Art Center

Previous Kapala article

Next Fashion Kingdom article