News/Features

Nā Kia’i o Pu’uloa by Taylor Wilson
In Spring of 2022, Leeward CC art students competed to have their design showcased on the main entrance of the Learning Commons. Taylor Wilsonʻs design, depicting the shark goddess, Ka‘ahupāhau and her brother, Kahi‘ukā, in harmony with the ocean and its inhabitants, was selected for the window print. This project taught students about designing for a large-scale installation, and they learned about Native Hawaiian culture during their research assignment. More information about this project and the student artist will be available soon. In the meantime, feel free to stop by the Learning Commons and get a good look at Taylorʻs artwork. It is truly amazing to see in-person!

Introduction to Drawing Final Project - Spring 2022
Introduction to Drawing students put all they have learned this semester to the test through an ambitious, collaborative project. Working from a large installation of various still life items, each student had a different vantage point that shifted when the next student worked over the same area. Learning the importance of collaboration, they pushed the image beyond that of a simple still life drawing. Elements of composition and design were considered and often exaggerated for the ultimate benefit and integrity of the drawing. This ambitious final helped prepare students for a flawless transition into Intermediate Drawing. Check out photos of the class and the final piece on our Flickr album.
Hō‘ikeākea (Opening in Spring 2023)
Leeward CC will soon be home to a brand new art gallery, specifically designed to showcase works from our students, faculty, and artists from Hawai‘i and beyond.
The name of our new gallery, Hō‘ikeākea, was inspired by a previous exhibit in the Leeward CC Library. Hō‘ike (to show, to exhibit, to reveal), contains the word “‘ike” which has deeper meanings that convey knowledge, feeling, recognition, experience, and revelations from the gods (to name a few). Ākea (broad, expansive, spacious) is also a short form for the god Wākea, of Papa and Wākea, the couple that connects all of Polynesia. Thus the word Hōʻikeākea means the broad expanse of knowledge—to exhibit, reveal and inspire.
Check our website for updates about Hō‘ikeākea, or follow us on Instagram (@leewardccart).
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Art Faculty

Reem Bassous, Assistant Professor/Gallery Coordinator
Office Phone: (808) 455- 0227
Office Number: AM 203
reem@hawaii.edu
Area: Drawing and Painting
reembassous.studio
Reem Bassous received her BA from The Lebanese American University and her MFA from The George Washington University. She started teaching drawing and painting in 2001 and is currently an assistant professor at Leeward Community College at the University of Hawaiʻi. Bassous also serves as the gallery coordinator at Leeward. Her regional and national exhibitions include solo shows at the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the Washington Studio School Gallery, in Washington DC. Bassous’ work is in permanent collections which include the Honolulu Museum of Art and Shangri La Museum for Islamic Art, Culture and Design.

Phil Jung, Lecturer
Office Phone:
Office Number:
Email Address:
Area: Photography
Phil Jung received a BFA from The San Francisco Art Institute (1998) and an MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2009). He was born and raised in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, published, and featured nationally and internationally. His work is in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Recent clients include Coach, GQ, Orion, Flux, and AMERICA. Before coming to LCC Jung was head of the photo area at UH Manoa where he taught intro and advanced photography classes.

Yutaka Kawahito, Lecturer
Office Phone: (808) 455-0371
Office Number: FA 106
kawahito@hawaii.edu
Area: Ceramics
Yutaka Kawahito is excited to join the Art Department at Leeward Community College as a Lecturer in Ceramics. He is currently based in Kunia. A native of Hiroshima, Japan, Yutaka has received his MFA from Yale School of Art and has exhibited his work internationally. Yutaka has been the recipient of residencies and fellowships including Skowhegan School in Maine and Bemis Center in Nebraska.

Erika Molyneux, Instructor
Office Phone: (808) 455-0535
Office Number: DHE-107c
erikaj@hawaii.edu
Area: New Media Arts
Erika Molyneux is trained in graphics and printmaking (BFA, 2005), learning design and technology (M.Ed. & COLT, 2017), and observational drawing and painting (Atelier, 2010). She served on the boards of two local arts non-profits and currently paints on the art ministry team at church. As a teacher, she strives to apply real-world lessons, facilitates campus and community collaborations, and empower students through art! She has been awarded honors from Leeward Community College, The University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Honolulu Printmakers, Digital Artists’ Society of Hawaii, Honolulu Museum of Art, and Hawai‘i Alliance for the Arts.

Robert Molyneux, Instructor
Office Phone: N/A
Office Number: N/A
rmolyneu@hawaii.edu
Area: Drawing and Printmaking
Robert Molyneux is trained in glass and metal-smithing, drawing, painting, and printmaking, with degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University (BFA, 1990) and The University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (MFA, 2007). He has taught courses in art history, watercolor painting, drawing, and screenprinting for Leeward and Windward Community Colleges, the Honolulu Printmakers, and the Honolulu Museum of Art. As an art teacher, Rob helps students unlock their undiscovered creative potential! He has been awarded honors from The University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Honolulu Printmakers, John Young Foundation, Graphic Chemical, Hawaiian Graphics, the Dodie Warren Trust, Honolulu Museum of Art, and Hawai‘i Alliance for the Arts.

Brandon Ng, Lecturer
Office Phone: N/A
Office Number: N/A
ngbrando@hawaii.edu
Area: Photography
brandonkhng.com
Brandon Ng is an artist and educator raised and based in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. His photographic and installation works investigate the intersections between place, persona, and positionality to deconstruct historical narratives and examine the legacy of imperialism in the pacific. Ng received his BFA from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and his MFA from Arizona State University. His work has been shown throughout the continental US and Hawaiʻi, including exhibitions at Shangri La: Museum of Islamic Art Culture & Design and at the Honolulu Museum of Art.

Don Oberheu, Lecturer
Office Phone: (808) 455-0536
Office Number: DH-E107
oberheu@hawaii.edu
Area: Digital Photography, Digital Art, Media Ethics & Literacy
donsphotoworks.com
Don is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He has taught digital photography, digital art, and media ethics & literacy here at Leeward CC for many years. He is fluent in Japanese and often travels to Japan to photograph. Here in Hawaii, he focuses on underwater, wildlife, and scenic photography.

Maya Lea Portner, Lecturer
Office Phone: N/A
Office Number: N/A
mportner@hawaii.edu
Area: Drawing
mayaleaportner.com
Maya Lea Portner is an artist and educator from Honolulu, Hawai‘i. She earned a BFA from Washington University School of Art in St. Louis and an MFA from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Portner is the 13th recipient of the Catherine E. B. Cox Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts, awarded by the Honolulu Museum of Art. She has been teaching drawing at Leeward CC since 2017 and has taught UH system-wide in various art departments since 2006.

Tom Walker, Lecturer
Office Phone: (808) 455- 0227
Office Number: AM 203
twalker9@hawaii.edu
Area: Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, and Digital Art
Link to personal website:
Bio