Top 20 Most Inspirational Artists of Hawaii Announced Recognized at Start-up Arts Month Hawaii Event

HONOLULU - July 30, 2013 - PRLog -- On Wednesday, August 7^th, 2013 at 6 PM, Hawaii is invited to celebrate and support local artists at An Evening of Art, presented by The Laroa Artflow Foundation, a nonprofit organization inspiring youth around the world to express themselves through the arts. During An Evening of Art, twenty Hawaii-based artists will be recognized for their commitment to encouraging the arts community of Hawaii for generations to come. Guests will enjoy live music performances, special speeches from popular local artists, and a special art presentation from students at Aha Punana Leo Hawaiian Immersion School.

Recognized artists include: Jodi Endicott (www.jodiendicott.com), Andrew Binkley (www.andrewbinkley.com), Marina Crawford (www.marinacrawford.com), Judd Boloker (www.boloker.com), Jeff Pagay (www.jeffpagay.com), Cate Wyatt-Magalian (www.andrewbinkley.com), Gene Pijanowski (www.genepijanowski.com), Acoustic Guitarist Chuck Davis, Fashion Designer Bejan Moers, Lauren Roth (www.mynameislauren.com), Eve Naia (www.evenaia.com), Robin Fifita (robinfifita.wordpress.com), Kupono Duncan, Erin Smith (www.erinsmith808.com), Cory Taum, Winette (www.artbywinette.com), and Keahoha Kalama.

An Evening of Art is proud to benefit arts education programs for students at Aha Punana Leo Hawaiian Immersion School via the efforts of The Laroa Artflow Foundation. An Evening of Art is an official event apart of Start-up Arts Month Hawaii, a month-long initiative to support and encourage local artists (http://startuparts.lawrenceblake.com). Join The Laroa Foundation in recognizing twenty of Hawaii’s top fine artists, photographers, sculptors, and innovators in a celebration of commitment to the local art community, coined “The Top 20 Most Inspirational Artists of Hawaii”. A special presentation will take place recognizing the evening's honorees.

August 2013 will kick-off a celebration of art unlike Hawaii has ever seen, with the introduction of Start-up Arts Month Hawaii. Start-up Arts Month Hawaii will feature 30 days of unique events designed to inspire local artists and creative individuals through entrepreneurship - providing artists the tools they need to turn their art into a business. Start-up Arts Month Hawaii will feature creative presentations from fine painters, fashion designers, photographers, musicians, DJ's, dancers, and all the artists in-between. Start-up Arts Month Hawaii will spotlight rising artists at multiple events taking place all around the islands including fashion shows, galleries, expert panel discussions, live music, shopping experiences, and performance art shows.

An Evening of Art will be hosted at Honolulu's ThirtyNineHotel (www.ThirtyNineHotel.com), an internationally recognized Chinatown art gallery and award-winning cocktail bar. ThirtyNineHotel is located at 39 N Hotel St Honolulu, HI 96817. An Evening of Art begins at 6 PM, early arrival is suggested.

Start-up Arts Month Hawaii is honored to benefiting Aha Punana Leo Hawaiian Immersion School (www.ahapunanaleo.org (http://www.ahapunanaleo.org/)) via the efforts of The Laroa Artflow Foundation (www.LaroaArtFlow.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting arts education for youth around the world, and Groove Child Charities (www.groovechildcharities.org), a nonprofit organization inspiring Hawaii youth to reach their full potential.

The Pūnana Leo Movement grew out of a dream that there be reestablished throughout Hawai‘i the mana of a living Hawaiian language from the depth of our origins. The Pūnana Leo initiates, provides for and nurtures various Hawaiian Language environments, and we find our strength in our spirituality, love of our language, love of our people, love of our land, and love of knowledge.

“It began with a dream and a commitment to persevere with our mission in mind, E Ola Ka ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i - The Hawaiian Language Shall Live. Political barriers, financial difficulties, skepticism and stereotypes were overcome so that the vision could be realized. While we celebrate the success of growing the number of students from less than 50 Hawaiian language speakers under the age of 18 to over 10,000 today, we are also mindful that the fulfillment of the vision has only just begun”. Aha Punana Leo's mission statement.

“Our goal is to encourage the cultural and personal growth of our communities by using art as a catalyst and inspiration for change. To do this, we promote local artists, cultivate our local art scene, and support the artistic development of our youth. Through our network of artists, family and friends, we are currently sharing the Laroa Artflow throughout Maryland, California, Hawaii and Nicaragua. The Laroa Artflow organizes and promotes community-based art shows. We sponsor emerging artists and share their art with the community. We then use the proceeds from our art shows, along with the donations from the public, to fund community-based artistic development and any other deserving missions we adopt along the way”. Mark Otto, founder Laroa Artflow Foundation.

Groove Child Charities mission is to enable youth to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. Our goal is to encourage youth to have a greater awareness of their impact on the environment, their need for a strong education, and the value of cultural diversity.

To learn more about Start-up Arts Month Hawaii, please visit http://StartUpArts.LawrenceBlake.com. Start-Up Arts Month Hawaii is a community service initiative hosted by Lawrence Blake Group Int’l (www.LawrenceBlake.com), rising New York based corporate communications firm. A spokesperson from our partner charities, participating artists, and celebrity guests will be available for live interviews. For information please contact L. Blake Harvey, 646.481.8237, startuparts@LawrenceBlake.com. Follow Lawrence Blake Group Int’l on Twitter and Facebook for event updates. www.Twitter.com/LawrenceBlakePR. www.Facebook.com/LawrenceBlakeGroup.