{"id":234743,"date":"2026-05-20T17:48:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=234743"},"modified":"2026-05-20T17:50:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:50:27","slug":"student-art-work-shines-at-koa-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/20\/student-art-work-shines-at-koa-gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"Student art work shines at Kapiʻolani CC<\/abbr>\u2019s Koa Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Student artist Geneva Mellison and her work My Perfect Mask, 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s something really special about the darkroom,” said Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College English literature major Geneva Mellison. “No phones, no distractions. It creates this intimate environment where students can connect, create and encourage each other.”<\/p>\n

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Koa Gallery exhibition featured mixed media, clay, plaster and ceramic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mellison\u2019s photography was featured in the Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> Student Show 2026<\/em>. The exhibition, held from April 29 to May 8 at the Koa Gallery<\/a>, showcased works from introductory and intermediate studio art and new media art students. It emphasized students’ commitment to material processes and contemporary artistic exploration across mediums such as ceramics, drawing, painting, photography and sculpture.<\/p>\n

Her exhibition piece, My Perfect Mask<\/em>, 2025, was a series of gelatin silver prints created in a photography course. It explored “masking,” or the suppression of one\u2019s true personality to conform to social expectations. Her passion for the medium started young.<\/p>\n

“Photography is the love of my life,” Mellison said. “I was gifted a camera when I was seven, and I carry one around with me wherever I go. These projects have been on my mind constantly, and I think the flow of creativity happened in my life, too. I just walk around and think, ‘Oh, that would make a great picture.’”<\/p>\n

Exhibition experience<\/h2>\n
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Olla student pots, clay pots buried in soil to provide water to plants.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Koa Gallery Director Brandon Ng said the show provided vital experience, inviting students to get a taste for what it is like to exhibit their work in a gallery.<\/p>\n

Ng said, “The result was a showcase of work that emphasized the students\u2019 commitment to learning their craft, while catalyzing art as a vital tool for them to engage with the world.”<\/p>\n

He hopes to continue expanding opportunities for artists through the Koa Gallery, while creating exhibitions that invite deeper community engagement and creative exploration across disciplines.<\/p>\n

“We want the gallery to be a place that inspires students and visitors to view art as a lifelong companion,” Ng said. “This exhibition served as a meaningful touchstone for art and education and one that will build on Koa Gallery\u2019s goal of being a critical space for art that enriches and complicates the essential conversations central to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and its people.”[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid element_width=”3″ css=”” grid_id=”vc_gid:1779334963274-59ad1730-434b-2″ include=”234755,234754,234753,234752,234751,234750,234749″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Koa Gallery offers a critical space for students to showcase their art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":234749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[105,63,1689,71],"class_list":["post-234743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-art","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-koa-gallery","tag-uh-community-colleges","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t