Wisdom Circles Oceania fosters community-led systemic change through cultural arts expression and youth development in Hawaiʻi.
Rooted in community, we utilize creative expression to cultivate genuine safety and well-being for Hawaiʻi’s youth and people. We approach this work through place-based experiences that invite a variety of identities, develop a sense of belonging, and nurture meaningful connections through a lens of healing and justice.
Programs
Wisdom Circles Oceania creates intergenerational communities of care, built upon Mālama ʻĀina, centering sustainable systems for belonging, collective dreaming, and building together for trust, joy, and well-being. Serving Native Hawaiian youth and allied youth of color, with special care to LGBTQIA+ youth, our programs foster creative expression, wellness, and connection through circle practice, ʻāina-based learning, and intergenerational experiences.
Strengthening pathways for youth access, engagement, and leadership in Hawaiʻi’s systems of care through culturally grounded arts programming, mentorship, and youth-led advocacy.
We collaborate with meaningful partners to tailor cultural art-based workshops that support spaces of collaboration, creating an opportunity for peace building and bridging deeper collective understanding for the protection of our precious resources.
Community of Care Workers
Supporting frontline workers simple therapeutic strategies to cope with stress, balance their emotional and mental well-being for service professionals to find more inspiration in their work.
In response to the Maui fire relief efforts, WCO mobilized to center the impacted community in our work. We deliver vital trauma-responsive arts programs on Maui, offering essential support to impacted youth, families, and frontline service providers.
Community Partner Testimonials
“I feel more connected in that I discovered more deeply what art can do as a reflective method of discovery, combined with meditation, prayer and group sharing. I often feel pressured when making by the prospect of it as being meant for display, but this was not the same. I truly felt that these activities were meant for self-healing."
— Alicia Yang, Acupuncturist/Community worker
“I had the pleasure of working with Wisdom Circles Oceania on a social enterprise startup called the Correctional Arts ReEntry (CARE) Project. Sierra Dew, the Programs Director, helped me set up the CARE program by providing her expertise in creating art programs for underserved communities. She has great ideas, is very creative, and is a joy to work with. She is my go-to person for brainstorming ideas and I look forward to working with her on other projects.”
— Ruby Menon, Program Director CARE Project
“Mahalo to Wisdom Circles Oceania for generously sharing their genuine caring for others, their extraordinary sense of artistic design, and belief in individuality through art with our women's sewing group - Seams Wonderful. Under their gentle guidance, the women expanded their collective and individual artistic vision and learned to make new products that were very popular and contributed to their financial sustainability.”
—Jo Ayers, COO Kokua Kalihi Valley
Follow us on Instagram @wisdomcirclesoceania and Blue Sky @wisdomcircles.bsky.social
