‘Project Banaba’ exhibit chronicles island’s tragic past and urges environmental stewardship

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A new exhibit, ‘Project Banaba,’ showcasing Banaba Island, opened today at the Bishop Museum.

Banaba Island was destroyed by phosphate mining, forcing the residents to relocate in 1945.

“I wanted to tell this story to wider audiences, so I wrote a book about it, I wrote a lot of book chapters and journal articles about it, but I wanted to turn it into a multimedia installation to have a wider reach,” Teaiwa said.

The artist, Katerina Teaiwa, studied its history for over two decades plus used her family’s personal recollections to create the exhibit.

“A bit of a cautionary tale, and it’s a warning to others not to over-exploit their resources, and in many ways, banabas didn’t have a choice either. They weren’t asked very nicely if they could give up their island; they were basically forced to give up, give up their island to lease their land, and leasing land meant the land disappeared from underneath their feet.”

The exhibit runs until February.

Find out more information on the exhibit here.