Maui Arts League History

The Maui Arts League was originally created in 1975 as the West Maui Cultural Council (WMCC), to preserve Hawaiian culture through visual arts and organize cultural activities on West Maui. In 1978, WMCC received their 501(c)(3) tax clearance from the IRS. (Federal Tax Identification: 99-0181159).

In 2006, WMCC helped launch the Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational, which continues today as one of the premier plein air painting events in the United States. For 10 days every February, we bring together world class plein air painters from Hawai‘i and the U.S. mainland to capture the beauty of Maui. Most events are free and open to the public, enabling locals and tourists alike to interact with and learn from the invited painters.

In 2014, we launched a name change, to the Maui Arts League. Our goals are expanding! We are building a membership organization and to build the West Maui Fine Art Museum. We envision building a permanent collection and showcasing traveling art exhibitions that focus on painting, sculpture, and photography. The Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational will be our ‘flagship’ event which showcases 175+ artworks each year. We are in the early stages of envisioning what the museum project will evolve to be. Ideas range from event and exhibition spaces, storage and office space, a café, gift shop, and more.

We sincerely believe that the arts have been sadly neglected in our schools (along with sports) and we hope to fill a void in the community by more actively pursuing arts education and art appreciation for all members of our local community and visitors alike.