ALOHA ʻĀINA & ART · In this episode, Lily Māhealani Mitchell invites us into the in-between - between Hawaiʻi and England, painting and design, emotions and healing. She traces her path from meticulously painting roses as a kid to creating protest-inspired archival work like a hidden-ink Kumulipo typography piece that questions who knowledge is really for. Living abroad sharpened her awareness of aloha ʻāina, water, urbanization, and what it means to carry culture in spaces that don’t always reflect it back. We talk murals in underground markets, research as resistance, and why sometimes the message chooses the medium, not the other way around. This conversations is about staying rooted while roaming and becoming the sun wherever you land. Mahalo for tuning in! Learn more about Lily's art: Website: https://mahealily.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madebymahealily/ Episode Highlights 00:00 meet lily māhealani mitchell 🌺 01:49 a multi-medium artist — why pick one when you can do it all? 🎨 03:22 home: oʻahu, hawaiʻi island, england & choosing leeds beckett university 06:25 storytelling, culture, and the heartbeat behind the art 06:51 roses, realism, and learning to really see 08:58 letting the message choose the medium 10:37 inspiration abroad: missing hawaiʻi, aloha ʻāina, and community contrast 14:58 reforest leeds: water, biophilic design, and reconnecting people to ʻāina 🌿 19:12 save our surf (sos): archival posters, shoreline protests & urbanization 🌊 21:36 research as healing: archives, primary sources, and cultural continuity 25:04 kumulipo typography project: hidden knowledge, reverence, and decolonizing text 30:21 making the work: emotion, therapy, and the leeds market tunnel mural 33:37 art is for everyone 36:30 leo rising ♌
ALOHA ʻĀINA & ART · In this episode, Lily Māhealani Mitchell invites us into the in-between - between Hawaiʻi and England, painting and design, emotions and healing. She traces her path from meticulously painting roses as a kid to creating protest-inspired archival work like a hidden-ink Kumulipo typography piece that questions who knowledge is really for. Living abroad sharpened her awareness of aloha ʻāina, water, urbanization, and what it means to carry culture in spaces that don’t always reflect it back. We talk murals in underground markets, research as resistance, and why sometimes the message chooses the medium, not the other way around. This conversations is about staying rooted while roaming and becoming the sun wherever you land. Mahalo for tuning in!
Learn more about Lily's art:
Website: https://mahealily.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madebymahealily/
Episode Highlights
00:00 meet lily māhealani mitchell 🌺
01:49 a multi-medium artist — why pick one when you can do it all? 🎨
03:22 home: oʻahu, hawaiʻi island, england & choosing leeds beckett university
06:25 storytelling, culture, and the heartbeat behind the art
06:51 roses, realism, and learning to really see
08:58 letting the message choose the medium
10:37 inspiration abroad: missing hawaiʻi, aloha ʻāina, and community contrast
14:58 reforest leeds: water, biophilic design, and reconnecting people to ʻāina 🌿
19:12 save our surf (sos): archival posters, shoreline protests & urbanization 🌊
21:36 research as healing: archives, primary sources, and cultural continuity
25:04 kumulipo typography project: hidden knowledge, reverence, and decolonizing text
30:21 making the work: emotion, therapy, and the leeds market tunnel mural
33:37 art is for everyone
36:30 leo rising ♌