One Little Schoolhouse. Generations of Community.
Our Story
For more than a century, our historic campus in Hōnaunau has brought the South Kona community together.
Who We Are.
The Society for Kona’s Education & Art (SKEA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community arts and education organization located in Hōnaunau, South Kona. For decades, SKEA has been a place where people of all ages come together to learn, create, share, and connect. As Kona’s oldest continuously operating community arts organization.
We are grateful to inspire generations and help build futures.
With a focus on South Kona, the Society for Kona’s Education and Art serves the Hawaiʻi Island community by providing arts and educational opportunities through programs, projects, and events that contribute to a vibrant community.
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With a focus on South Kona, the Society for Kona’s Education and Art serves the Hawaiʻi Island community by providing arts and educational opportunities through programs, projects, and events that contribute to a vibrant community. 〰️
What We Do.
SKEA offers classes, workshops, performances, youth programs, and community events that bring people of all ages together. Our programs are shaped by the artists, teachers, musicians, volunteers, and community members who share their talents and ideas with us. Respect of culture and a sense of place is a thread that shapes our offerings.
Our Historic Schoolhouse.
Tucked among the coffee farms of South Kona with the Hōnaunau forest as its backdrop, our campus has been a refuge for learning, culture, and community for over 120 years. From a 1905 Japanese Language School to the vibrant arts center it is today, this little schoolhouse carries a rich history of bringing people together.
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Built around 1905 as a Japanese Language School, our campus sits among the small coffee farms of South Kona, with the Hōnaunau Forest Reserve as its mauka backdrop. Established to help children of Japanese immigrants maintain their language, culture, and heritage, our schoolhouse is believed to be the last of its kind still standing in either Kona district. (And according to local lore, the original school also fielded an excellent baseball team!)
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After closing during World War II and falling into disrepair over the following decades, the old schoolhouse was rediscovered in the early 1980s by a group of local families looking for a place to educate their children. They restored the building and established the South Kona Education Association in 1983. As the organization grew, it became the Society for Kona’s Education and Art—keeping the now-iconic acronym, SKEA.
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The original teacher’s cottage stood beside the schoolhouse for more than a century as a residence, gallery, and office space before succumbing to termite and weather damage in 2025. Several of its historic windows were carefully saved and incorporated directly back into the schoolhouse, carrying a physical piece of our history forward into SKEA’s next chapter.
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More than 120 years after children first came here to learn, this little schoolhouse continues to do what it was built to do: bring people together through education, art, creativity, and community.
SKEA is A Place For Everyone.
SKEA is a place for artists and beginners, kids and teens, adults and kūpuna, longtime South Kona families and newcomers alike. We believe creativity, learning, and connection make a community stronger—and we are proud to provide a place for all three to grow.