ANNE KEALA KELLY

BIO:

Anne Keala Kelly is a regular correspondent for Independent Native News and Free Speech Radio News, both airing nationally and on the Internet. She’s published over 70 articles locally in Hawai’i on issues ranging from Native Hawaiian sovereignty to the Honolulu poetry and spoken word scene, and in national journals such as the American Indian Quarterly and Indian Country Today. She has produced and directed numerous guerrilla documentaries, each of which were used by community organizations to promote political activism and resistance against issues ranging from condemnation of Hawaiian land to militarization. Currently, Keala is in production on her first feature length film, a documentary about the militarization and desecration of Hawai’i, “Noho Hewa Ma Hawai’I Nei: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawai’i.” (www.nohohewa.com) In 2004, she was awarded two feature-writing awards from the Native American Journalist Association, and received grants from the LEF Foundation, the Pohaku Fund and a Paul Robeson Independent Media grant. And in 2005 she received another award from NAJA for her radio report about the arrests of homeless Hawaiians. Keala has an MFA Degree in Film Production from UCLA (1998).

ARTIST’S STATEMENT:

ALOHA: Wishing You Were Here (3 minutes, audio and video)

I’ve been covering stories about Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) for over 5 years now as a journalist and for the past 2 1/2 years I’ve been shooting and editing a documentary film called Noho Hewa Ma Hawai’i Nei: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawai’i. In either medium, there are repeating issues I encounter that involve spiritual and physical realities specific to Kanaka Maoli. What I have done here is focus on two of the most consistent themes-- displacement and desecration. I have scaled back the original concept for this installation, which is intended to be experienced while lying face up in a dark space. This is a hybrid piece that uses actual radio reports I’ve produced for Independent Native News and Free Speech Radio News, as well as audio from Noho Hewa. The visuals were shot with a PD170. (After the viewing, please take a copy of the accompanying pamphlet, Another Modest Proposal: A Few Ideas For Dealing With Hawaiian Burials, a satirical essay in the tradition of Jonathan Swift.)

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