Mr. Giugni Goes to Washington - New Exhibit Opens at ‘Ulu‘ulu

In addition to the abundant film and video tape collections, ‘Ulu‘ulu also has a collection of artifacts such as projectors, cameras, film equipment, and other memorabilia on display and open to the public  and students in our exhibit area. Our newest exhibit “Mr. Giugni Goes to Washington” features newspapers, photographs, and ephemera from the political careers of the archive’s namesake, Henry Ku‘ualoha Giugni and Senator Daniel K. Inouye.

Maile Morrell, our Fall 2024 LIS Intern, shares her experience working on the display.

I was excited to design and contribute to ‘Ulu‘ulu’s exhibit space because I really enjoy the museum experience and viewing meaningful exhibits. Every object, picture, and (sometimes seemingly random) artifact plays a part in a greater narrative waiting to be told. At the beginning of my internship, I was tasked with creating label descriptions for the Mr. Giugni Goes to Washington exhibit. Lucky me, I had upgraded from intern to detective and curator in a matter of days!

Some of the ephemera is self-explanatory, such as entry tickets and passes, but I wanted to share what a participant at such ticketed events may have experienced or how Henry Giugni and Senator Inouye took part in these events. For example, on display are electronic entry passes for the 1968 Democratic National Convention, in which Senator Daniel K. Inouye delivered a historic keynote address as the first person of color chosen for this role. The credential card system was designed specifically for the 1968 DNC with unpatented technology from a California-based security company predating magstripe and RFID. The attendee wore their pass on a lanyard and validated their admission into the convention hall by inserting the pass into the reader.

I enjoyed viewing the artifacts up close and now visitors to ‘Ulu‘ulu can as well. My hope is that the exhibit can highlight some interesting insight into the friendship between Henry K. Giugni and Senator Inouye and their lives in Washington D.C.

A special thank you goes out to Tisha, Jon, and Hōkū for also helping with the installation!

Visitors may view the exhibit in the ‘Ulu‘ulu exhibit space located within the James & Abigail Campbell Library on the UH West O‘ahu campus, Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm.

The LIS 690 Internship is open to current graduate students in the Library and Information Science Program at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.