Mouna Arts and Cultural Village (MACV) was founded in 2014 to serve the Wai’anae Coast community. It is a 501(c)(3) non profit foundation dedicated to providing education in arts, culture, and agriculture. The foundation primarily serves the children and their Ohana (family) of Wai’anae Coast. MFAC also serves children, teachers, and people of all walks of life from around the world.
Sooriyakumar, the founder of Mouna Arts and Cultural Village has been working and making copper art in Wai’anae, Oahu for 35 years. The Koholā Ola Whale Project is particularly dear to Sooriya’s heart for its message of world peace and unity. It is especially important because of his deep and profound connection to Dr. Agnes Kalanilho’okaha Cope. The beloved “Aunty Aggie,” as she was affectionately known, was a founder of Wai’anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and a Living Treasure on Culture and the Arts in Hawaii. This pays beautiful homage to Aunty Aggie’s spirits of aloha, benevolence and compassion.
We are all of us. We are all part of the spirit of the whale and whale project. We all shape our present and future as a mother whale nourishes the life of her child. On copper we are the children of Waianae Coast. We are the parents and uncles, aunties, Kapunas and Kahunas of our communities. We are the family and visitors of Mouna Farm. We are people who come from all walks of life to touch the copper, to put our Mana into this metal for the ages. All cultures. All religions and spiritual longings. All ages. All places, hard and soft, powerful and humble. All generations, now and to come. We are the people of Hawaii, and all places of the world. We are you. And you are us. We must all be together.
Matthew Nagato, a well known documentary film maker in Hawaii will direct and produce a documentary of the Koholā Ola Peace Project. Matthew founded Lumos Media in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is dedicated to producing inspiring, thought-provoking independent films which challenge mainstream thinking. His acclaimed documentaries, “Ola: Health is Everything” and “Ike: Knowledge is Everywhere” have aired throughout the mainland and Hawaii.
Alex Bocchieri is filming and managing cinematography. His special projects include a short documentary currently in film festivals and upcoming films in association with Sooriya and Matthew.
Kohola Ola Peace Project 