A copper and bronze sculpture of a volcano sits at the front of what was once the box office for the old Aloha Stadium. Now that construction is underway for the new Aloha Stadium, it sits in the path of a planned road.
Moving it — along with upkeep and restoration — is estimated to cost about $600,000 or more, said Karen Ewald, executive director of the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, which owns the artwork, in a SFCA general board meeting on Friday, Sept. 11.
That sculpture, “Volcano,” was crafted by Satoru Abe, a sculptor, painter and printmaker who was born in Honolulu and graduated from McKinley High School. Abe, who was also a Guggenheim Fellow, died at 98 years old in 2025, leaving behind artwork still held by museums and on display in front of First Hawaiian Bank in Downtown Honolulu, among other locations.
His sculpture, “Volcano,” is part of SFCA’s Art in Public Places Program, which is funded by the Works of Art Special Fund, which requires 1% of state fund appropriations for the construction or renovation of state buildings be moved to this special fund and used to purchase — or commission — works of art.
“This work of art needs to be moved, stored, conserved, and upkept while the construction takes place at NASED [New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District],” said Ewald during the meeting, which was held via Zoom.
Previously, SFCA has been able to fund the moving of works of art in its collection through its Works of Art Special Fund, but changes to that law mean this can no longer happen, so the money would need to come out of the general fund, which does not have enough to cover that cost, she said.
“What we like to do is seek legislation to amend the Works of Art Special Fund to expand the allowable use of the fund,” she said. “The proposed amendment could restore or clarify the ability to use the fund for activities necessary to appropriately manage works of art within the state's collection. It would be basically putting back into that law specific words like ‘conservation,’ ‘preservation,’ ‘transportation,’ ‘relocation,’ ‘installation; and ‘reinstallation,’ ‘maintenance and upkeep,’ and other collections management activities associated with the work of art.”
During the meeting, commissioners explored three options: Seek an amendment to Hawai’i Revised Statutes 103-8.5 to expand the allowable uses of the Works of Art Special Fund; request a general fund appropriation to support the conservation, transportation and relocation of the sculpture; or allow the deaccession the artwork from the SFCA collection.
Commissioners voted unanimously to seek an ammendment to the existing Works of Art Special Fund. And again, unanimously, to request a general fund appropriation to move the artwork to a new location.
Konrad Ng, the chairperson of the board, also suggested private partners might be able to fund the project.
“Trying to fundraise or have others look for other sources of funding would take some time — more time than if we could just try to get funds from the leg[islature],” Edwald said.
Dismantling the old stadium, which was deemed rusty and unsafe for fans, started in December of 2025. New Aloha Stadium and Entertainment District (NASED) picked a developer for the $650-million project in late 2024. About $350 million of the mixed-use sports and entertainment district will be funded by state taxpayer funds, while the rest is funded by private developer investments.
During the meeting, Chris Kinimaka from the state Department of Accounting and General Services, noted that the contribution to the Works of Art Special Fund for building the new Aloha Stadium came out to about $3.4 million, after about $100,000 was removed for consultant fees.
“I just wanted to assure everyone that we're all very passionate about this work of art, especially with the passing of Satoru Abe,” Kinimaka said. “When we looked at the layout of the district — even before we brought the developer on — we recognized that the location of the volcano in the existing Aloha Stadium footprint was a gateway to the stadium.”
The statue was once in front of the ticket office, but the hub is shifting because the stadium is now part of a district and people will be coming in via Skyline, Kamehameha Highway and other areas. Aloha Hālawa District Partners has been working with SFCA and the art advisory committee on a new location for the sculpture, she added.
“That's why it breaks our heart that the law changed because it was always our intention to utilize that work of art as a terrific entry to the whole district — and then accompany that with additional works of art incorporated throughout,” Kinimaka said.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
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