Isaacs Art Center

ABOUT Isaacs Art Center

MISSION & HISTORY 

The Isaacs Art Center was created to serve as a cultural force benefiting the Hawai'i Preparatory Academy (HPA), Waimea, and Big Island communities. It is a part of HPA and provides a venue for people to donate appreciated art and receive the benefits of a charitable donation.

The mission of the Isaacs Art Center is to raise money for the benefit of HPA students while giving the community access to art and sculpture and providing students and parents living on the island with a cultural learning experience. It contains a large permanent collection of paintings, furniture, rare books, and Hawaiiana. A section of the art center operates as an art gallery, offering various work for sale. The funds generated by these sales are used to support the HPA Scholarship Fund.

The Isaacs Art Center building was built in 1915 as Waimea’s first public school structure. It was moved to its current location in June 2002 and in March 2003, was placed on the State Register of Historic Places. The restoration was completed in March 2004. In May 2003, the building received the prestigious 2003-2004 Historic Preservation Award from the Historic Hawai'i Foundation. 2005 the building was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

The art center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday by appointment.

 

DIRECTOR

Mollie Hustace (M.Ed., MPH) was named Director of the Isaacs Art Center in July 2014. Hustace brings extensive education, art, and fundraising experience to her position. Since 1994, she has served as faculty member, college counselor, and chair of the Fine Arts Department at HPA, and she continues to teach art history at the Academy.

Hustace has been an active volunteer at the Isaacs Art Center since its opening in 2004, serving as a docent and assisting with auction catalogs, exhibits, and retrospectives. She previously was a visiting lecturer in art history at ‘Iolani School and a docent lecturer and gallery guide at the Honolulu Museum of Art. For 10 years, she was the owner-artist of Akalei Designs, a stained glass art business that completed commissioned work for Victoria Ward, Ltd. common areas. Prior to that, she was a registered nurse, researcher, and state health planner for 14 years on O‘ahu. She is the co-founder of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Honolulu Chapter, and was an active board officer for 10 years.

Hustace earned her bachelorÊ»s degree from Stanford University and her bachelorÊ»s degree in professional nursing with high honors from the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa. She also holds a Master of Public Health and Master of Education from the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa. She and her husband, James, have two sons, James '03 and Kip '07.