​Why wait for permission to tell your story?

In Hawai‘i, storytelling has always been more than entertainment, it is a way to preserve knowledge, honor ancestors, and strengthen community. Today, new tools are putting that same power into everyone’s hands.

At this one-day summit, Emmy Award-winning creators, visionary technologists, musicians, and filmmakers, including the talent behind the visual effects of Avatar and The Hobbit, join forces with Hawai‘i’s own artists and innovators to explore how emerging tools are blowing open the doors of storytelling. From AI and XR to immersive worlds and gesture-driven music, these trailblazers are redefining how culture is made, and who gets to make it.

Presented by Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design, in partnership with Creative Industries Division, this summit unites global leaders and Hawai‘i-based partners to spark a new era of narrative.

Featuring the Hawai'i debut of UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s NarrA.I.tive Story Studio, a groundbreaking initiative merging AI and storytelling for ethical, imaginative innovation.

​This free event, held at Capitol Modern, will include complementary food and refreshments catered by Nui Kealoha. Check in will begin at 10:00am.

This isn’t about watching the future, it’s about claiming it, together.

Our voices. Our vision. Our stories.

​Featured Artists, Speakers, Panelists Include

• ​Moses Goods: Actor, Chief of War, Honolulu Theatre for Youth

• ​Michaela Ternasky-Holland: Emmy and Webby award-winning director

• ​Nikora Ngaropo: Visual effects artist: Avatar, The Hobbit

• ​Carlos Johns-Davila: Composer, electro-acoustic musician and immersive media maker

• ​Rachel Joy Victor: Independent designer, strategist, and worldbuilder

• ​Aaron Santiago: Cutting-edge creative working at the intersection of art & technology 

• ​Vicky Holt-Takamine: Executive Director, PAʻI Foundation, Chair of Native Hawaiian Intellectual Property Working Group

• ​Mericia Palma Elmore: Executive Director, SAG-AFTRA Hawai’i Local

• ​Georja Skinner: Chief Officer of Creative Industries Division in the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism