Image by Dino Morrow
Bernice Akamine
A life long learner, Bernice Akamine began to pursue a career in art later in life than many artists. Akamine chose to raise a family and then return to school; during her studies at the University of Hawai‘i she rediscovered art; deciding that doing what one loves is most important, she changed her major and was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts in glass, 1994 and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture and glass, 1999. Akamine has been taking Hawaiian cultural classes and workshops throughout much of her life and during the summer and winter of 2010 attended the Hawaiian Ohana for Education in the Arts in Waimea. She is recognized for her kapa and work with waiho’olu’u, Hawaiian natural dyes. Akamine’s grandmother, Kaha Halela’au was a kahuna lapa’au, traditional Hawaiian healer, descended from generations of healers, and her mother, Audrey Elliott was a lauhala weaver.
Akamine’s work can be found in the permanent collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts; Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts; Portland Art Museum, Oregon; American Museum of Natural History, New York; Hallie Ford Museum, Salem, Oregon; Australian Museum, Sydney and the Queensland Art Gallery/Museum of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia. Akamine received a Honolulu Biennial 2019, Golden Hibiscus, Honorable Mention Award; 2015 Native Hawaiian Artist Fellowship, from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation; Community Scholar Award from the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, 2012; Award of Excellence, Fiber Hawaii 2003; and was a Visiting Artist at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, 1999. Akamine has also served as a Native Arts Review Panelist in 2005 for the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.; a Hawaii Craftsmen Board of Director from 2011-2012 and is currently a Board Member of The Friends of Amy Greenwell Garden, Kealakekua. Born on O’ahu and raised between Hawai‘i and Japan, Akamine lives and works in Volcano, Hawai‘i.
