Other Spaces –

Kīlauea’s 2018 eruption was the largest in the Lower East Rift Zone in over 200 years, with lava flows covering more than 8,700 acres. Hawai‘i County identified two impacted sites for piloting a design-research toolkit: Pohoiki, a cherished public beach park, and Kumukahi, a sacred site of profound cultural significance for Native Hawaiians at the easternmost point of the archipelago. In the aftermath of the eruption, these places became contested grounds where community members and visitors continue to engage with differing understandings, cultural connections, and behavioral norms.

This project responds to these tensions through the development of a community engagement toolkit that fosters caretaking and dialogue. At its core, the project creates Other Spaces—temporary, flexible interventions that mediate between local communities, visitors, and organizations. Open-ended in form and intentionally adaptable, these interventions operate as platforms for perpetuating Indigenous culture, mediating between spheres of private and public ownership, sharing cultural practices, encouraging cross-community collaboration, and advancing land stewardship.

HIGHLIGHTS

This project was partially funded by a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Grant. The toolkit will be available for community use through Hawai‘i County’s Resiliency Library