Hawaii State Art Museum

Capitol Modern — the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum — occupies the second floor of the historic No. 1 Capitol District Building in downtown Honolulu, steps from ʻIolani Palace. The 1928 Spanish-Mission structure was designed by Walker Emory, Marshall Webb, and Lincoln Rogers, and features cast stone detailing, iron grillwork, ornamental light fixtures, and original Italian tile work inspired by Florence's Davanzati Palace. The building earned a place on the National Register of Historic Properties in 1978 before becoming home to the museum in 2002; it was rebranded as Capitol Modern in 2023. The museum presents the largest collection of works by Hawaiian artists and is free and open to the public. As the venue that the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts describes as "a small gallery with a big responsibility," Capitol Modern positions art as a civic resource — the people's museum. For private events, Capitol Modern offers several distinct rental spaces: an open-air Second Floor Courtyard, a sweeping Front Lawn shaded by monkeypod canopies and coconut trees, and a ground-floor Sculpture Garden that has been transformed into an urban oasis. Together these spaces accommodate events from intimate gatherings to large celebrations of up to 1,500 guests.