Friends of ʻIolani Palace

Friends of ʻIolani Palace
Name	Friends of ʻIolani Palace
Formation	1966
Type	Nonprofit
Location	Honolulu, Hawaii

Friends of ʻIolani Palace is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu, on the island of Oʻahu, preserving the material culture of the Hawaiian Kingdom associated with monarchs such as King Kalākaua, Queen Liliʻuokalani, King Kamehameha IV, and Kamehameha V. The organization partners with institutions including the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Bishop Museum, Hawaiian Mission Houses, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and the National Park Service to steward collections, archives, and public access related to events like the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and documents such as the Hawaiian Kingdom Regalia. Friends of ʻIolani Palace also collaborates with cultural practitioners linked to lineages of House of Kamehameha and the Kanaka Maoli community to interpret artifacts connected to treaties like the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 and international visits to courts in London, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C..

History

Founded in 1966 amid increasing interest in historic preservation, the organization emerged alongside movements represented by Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Polynesian Voyaging Society, King David Kalākaua revival efforts, and civic initiatives connected to figures like John A. Burns and Hiram Bingham. Early work responded to collections stewardship concerns prompted by the return of items after the 1893 Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and later loans from repositories such as the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, and the British Museum. Through the 1970s and 1980s Friends aligned with restoration projects reflecting standards from the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, cooperating with architects from firms influenced by practitioners who worked on sites like Iolani Palace and similar projects at Haleakalā National Park and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau. By the 1990s and 2000s the organization had established long-term programs for cataloguing royal artifacts, partnering with American Alliance of Museums, Getty Conservation Institute, and academic departments at Hawaiʻi Pacific University and Kamehameha Schools.

Mission and Activities

The group's stated mission emphasizes preservation, education, and access for artifacts, photographs, and documents tied to monarchs such as Emperor Meiji contacts and diplomats like Lorrin A. Thurston and Sanford B. Dole. Core activities include fundraising for conservation projects, curatorial internships with institutions like Yale University and University of Pennsylvania, and advocacy consistent with international charters such as the Venice Charter and policies promoted by ICOMOS. Friends provides grants for textile conservation of royal attire associated with Queen Emma and Princess Kaiulani, funds conservation of ʻIolani Palace furnishings crafted by makers comparable to Herter Brothers and R. H. White, and supports digitization of archival holdings linked to figures like Charles Reed Bishop and organizations such as the Kamehameha Schools Bishop Museum. Collaborations extend to cultural practitioners from Merrie Monarch Festival networks, contemporary artists featured at the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum, and genealogists affiliated with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Preservation and Restoration Projects

Major projects have included structural conservation of the palace interiors, restoration of gilt and painted decoration referencing techniques used at sites like Versailles and Buckingham Palace, textile stabilization of garments worn by King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani, and conservation of royal regalia comparable to treatments at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Work has been guided by consultants formerly engaged with the National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts. Funded campaigns supported seismic retrofitting consistent with standards promoted by the American Institute of Architects and archival rehousing projects modeled on collections care from The British Library and New York Public Library. The organization has also overseen repatriation dialogues with claimants associated with the Royal Order of Kamehameha I and museum partners including the Peabody Essex Museum.

Public Programs and Education

Public programming includes guided tours, an oral history initiative in collaboration with Hawaiʻi State Archives and the Bureau of Conveyances, curriculum resources for teachers in partnership with Hawaiʻi Department of Education, and lecture series featuring scholars from University of Hawaiʻi Press, Brown University, Stanford University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. Special exhibitions have included loans from collections at the National Museum of Natural History, Victoria and Albert Museum, and private collections associated with descendants of the House of Kawānanakoa. Educational outreach extends to community events tied to Merrie Monarch Festival, commemorations of the Annexation of Hawaii debates, and symposia involving historians who have published with Oxford University Press, Harvard University Press, and University of California Press.

Governance and Funding

The organization is governed by a board including trustees with affiliations to Bishop Museum, Kamehameha Schools, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, Alexander & Baldwin, and law firms that have represented cultural institutions like Stanley S. R. Foster & Co.. Funding sources include membership dues, major gifts from benefactors linked to Parker Ranch and families such as Cooke family (Hawaii), grants from foundations like Kamehameha Schools Parent-affiliated funds, project-specific awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and cooperative agreements with the State of Hawaii. Financial stewardship follows nonprofit practices recommended by Council on Foundations and reporting norms consistent with Internal Revenue Service filings for 501(c)(3) organizations.

Awards and Recognition

The organization and its projects have received recognition from bodies such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Association for Preservation Technology International, American Alliance of Museums, Hawaii Historic Foundation, and accolades published in outlets like Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Pacific Business News, and academic prizes from American Historical Association and Society of American Archivists. Specific awards have honored conservation work in partnership with experts formerly associated with Getty Conservation Institute and design firms that have worked on preservation projects for Smithsonian affiliates and other landmarks.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Hawaii