Maui on My Mind: Artist Will Ryan to Host Oct. Fundraisers for Lahaina

When living in a beach destination like the Hamptons, it’s easy to overlook what’s going on in the world outside paradise, so Will Ryan, an artist who splits his time between Amagansett and Maui, is rallying East End support for the Hawaiians devastated by the recent wildfire.

The fire — which ignited on August 8, killing roughly 100 people and destroying nearly 2,000 homes in Maui’s Lahaina community — has left many individuals displaced. Families have been temporarily living in area hotels under a program administered by the Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency, which also provided affected residents with a one-time payment of $700 per household.

Ryan describes the destruction as “heart-wrenching” and the government’s response: “shameful. They can spend all this money on war and everything else, and they can’t take care of their own people.”

Not satisfied with the disaster assistance provided thus far, especially with West Maui tourism reopening as normal this month, Ryan has organized two fall fundraisers that will aid the people of Maui in different ways, each made possible by the generosity of East End artists, both fine and musical.

“I just thought, ‘Well, I’m a musician and an artist, and I know so many people out here. We’re going to make some money and get it to them as directly as possible.”

The first event is Maui Strong, a benefit concert taking place at The Stephen Talkhouse (161 Main Street, Amagansett) on Sunday, October 15 at 7 p.m. It begins with a video blessing and chant by Aulii Mitchell, a well-respected Kumu Hula (master teacher in the art of hula), cultural advisor and co-founder/president of the Ho’oulu Lāhui nonprofit.

An impressive roster of local talent — including Klyph Black, Joe Delia, Inda Eaton, Mamalee, Bosco, Winston Irie, Jim Lawler, Al Buonanno, Denny McDermott, Dalton Portella, Max Louis and surprise performers — will kick off the performances with acoustic sets and build up to a thrilling rock finale.

There will be raffle prizes, Hawaiian-made clothing, complimentary leis at the door and more fun to be had by attendees, who are encouraged to dress in floral Hawaiian attire. Tickets are $50 at stephentalkhouse.com/events/81012 and at the door, and 100% of the proceeds will go to Lahaina Hands’ Lahaina Giving organization, which provides financial support to the displaced people of Maui and works toward bringing back clean drinking water to West Maui.

Following Maui Strong is the Small Works for a Big Cause fundraiser.

Held in partnership with the Anna Mirabai Lytton Foundation, at AB NY Gallery (62 Newtown Lane, East Hampton) on Friday, October 20, 5–8 p.m.

Around 30 local fine artists have contributed small works to this silent auction, where low starting bids will allow increased opportunity to acquire works by Mark Wilson, William Quigley, Eric Ernst, Elaine Grove, Paton Miller, Scott Bluedorn, Perry Burns, Jane Martin, Dalton Portella, Barbara Thomas, Nathan Slate Joseph, Steve Loschen, Gabriele Raacke, Jaime Lopez, Valley Bak, Barbara DiLorenzo, Kirsten Benfield, Rosario Varela, Rameshwar Das, Kate Rabinowitz, Marie DeLeonardo, Chris Lucore, Will Ryan himself and others.

There will be refreshments, ukulele music and a show of support for the Maui community.

“We’ll have as good a time as we can have under the circumstances that a lot of people are suffering, but we’re going to get together and hopefully make some money to bring them a little bit of joy in their life,” Ryan says. “We can’t forget how tragic the situation is on Maui, and the people in Lahaina are going to need help for a long, long time. Everyone, please be generous with your contributions.”

All proceeds from Small Works for a Big Cause will benefit Colleen McGowan’s Maui Art Bags project, which sends art supplies to Maui children devastated by the fires and plans to exhibit the kids’ artwork on the East End to further support for art education. McGowan, a former Springs School teacher, explains: “After this year’s catastrophic fires, I knew art could be a way to help these kids to regain some sense of normalcy. Many have lost homes, schools and community centers and are living in shelters or hotels with few possessions or outlets for expression.”

She adds, “Art can be effective therapy to cope with trauma and stress. Providing art materials in the Maui Art Bags will help these children access and heal their traumatic memories and emotions.”

Since his first visit in 2005, the people of Maui have become a second family to Ryan.

“I love the community there. There’s a softness to it,” he shares. “In Hawaii, there’s a word we call ‘ohana.’ The word means family, but it means more than family. It means your community; it means the people in your life. When this (fire) happened, I realized that (Maui) is as much my community as (the Hamptons) is, and my community there, my ohana there, is really in pain. … I wanted to be able to gather my ohana up here to help my friends out there, even though most of these people, I don’t know.”

Let’s see the East End come together to support the people of Maui.

-With Associated Press