HAWAIIArtist Information

Jack Johnson School(s): Kamaile Academy; Waianae Elementary

Quote: “My love of music started as a kid strumming the ukulele in an elementary classroom. By serving as a Turnaround Artist for Hawai'i, I'm excited to bring music and ideas to the students of Kamaile Academy and Waianae Elementary School. I hope to inspire the kids to dream big and help to create an environment of joy and possibility in their classrooms."

Bio: Jack Johnson, a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and former professional surfer, grew up surfing and playing guitar on the North Shore of Oahu. He released his first album Brushfire Fairytales in 2001 and since has released 6 studio albums and 2 live albums that have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. With his success, Johnson has always tried to take the spotlight and shine it on issues important to him, including support for sustainable local food systems and ocean stewardship, as well as environmental, art and music education for youth. In 2003, Jack Johnson released On and On and, with his wife Kim, founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation and Kokua Festival to support environmental education in Hawaii's schools and communities. In 2008, Johnson released Sleep Through the Static, recorded in his solar-powered studio, and donated 100% of his tour profits to establish the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, an endowment founded by Jack and Kim Johnson to support environmental, art and music education worldwide. The Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation continues to build relationships with non-profits offering music and arts education, and supports classrooms across the country through an annual Music & Arts Matching Campaign with DonorsChoose.org. Grants support school or community-based music programs and purchase of musical instruments, as well as a variety of visual and performing arts projects. Funding has supported innovative programs including Notes for Notes, the Incredible Children’s Art Network, Hawai’i Arts Alliance, and the Honolulu Theatre for Youth. This will be Johnson’s first year serving as a Turnaround Artist.

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HAWAIIArtist Information

Jake Shimabukuro School(s): Kalihi Kai

Quote: “It is an honor and privilege to support arts in education. At the age of four, I was fortunate to have my mother as my first music teacher, sparking my lifelong passion for the ukulele. Sadly, many students in America don’t have access to any form of art in their schools. I hope to turn this around by joining the ranks of Turnaround Artists and help serve the students at Kalihi Kai elementary school.”

Bio: Jake Shimabukuro, a Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso, composes music combining elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. At the age of four, Shimabukuro's mother gave him a ukulele, which he quickly took an interest in, playing it many hours a day. His mother, an accomplished ukulele player and singer, was his first teacher. Well known in Hawaii and Japan during his early solo career in the early 2000s, Shimabukuro became famous internationally in 2006, when a video of him playing a virtuosic rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was posted on YouTube without his knowledge and became one of the first viral videos on that site. His concert engagements, collaborations with legendary musicians, media appearances, and music production have snowballed since then. In 2012, an award-winning documentary was released tracking his life, career, and music, titled Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings. This is his first year serving as a Turnaround Artist.

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HAWAIIArtist Information

Alfre Woodard School(s): Kamaile Academy; Waianae Elementary

Quote: "My work with Turnaround Arts has been tremendously rewarding. I've loved every moment of getting to know these deserving kids and their dedicated teachers and principals. All you have to do is walk in to one of our schools and you can see, hear, and feel the transformation taking place. . .the positive energy in the halls, the focus of the teachers and the students in class, the light in a kid's face as he or she finds his or her voice. This sense of purpose is what is turning these schools around. I am honored to be part of it as the program expands to Hawaii!"

Bio: Alfre Woodard’s work as an actress has earned her an Oscar nomination, four Emmys, three SAG Awards, and a Golden Globe. She serves on the National Film Preservation Foundation Board, as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences International Outreach Committee. Ms. Woodard co-founded Artists for a New South Africa, a non-profit working to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and further democracy and human rights in South Africa and the United States.

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