It all begins with inspiration.

Over the past two decades, Jake Shimabukuro has proved that there isn’t a style of music that he can’t play. While versatility for any musician is impressive, what’s remarkable about Shimabukuro’s transcendent skills is how he explores his seemingly limitless vocabulary – whether it’s jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, folk or even classical – on perhaps the unlikeliest of instruments: the ‘ukulele. Responding to the urgent calls of his fervent imagination, the Hawai’i-born virtuoso has taken the ‘ukulele to points previously thought impossible, and in the process he’s reinvented the applications for this tiny, heretofore underappreciated four-string instrument, causing many to call him “the Jimi Hendrix of the ‘ukulele.”

Humbly, the good-natured musician, who first picked up the ‘ukulele at the age of four, says, “From the time I started playing, I was just doing what came naturally and what felt like fun. I love all types of music, so I never thought, ‘Oh, I can’t play that on the ‘ukulele.’” He laughs and adds, “If you don’t know the rules, you don’t need to follow them, and then nothing can hold you back.”

Shimabukuro’s incredible journey has taken him from local phenom to YouTube sensation, from playing tiny clubs to headlining the world’s most prestigious concert venues like the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center and the Sydney Opera House. He’s performed on the biggest TV shows and has released a string of award-winning, chart-topping albums. Just recently, he was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a Member for the National Council on the Arts.

Kristie Fujiyama Kosmides is a fourth-generation Japanese American born in Hilo, Hawaii. Inspired by fleeting moments of life and nature, her work captures an energy that is both serene and powerful and is often composed at a grand scale.

Kristie earned her BFA from Otis College of Art and Design, where she received the Department Chair Award. She has studied painting under Linus Chao, Alyssa Monks, and Vincent Desiderio. Kristie has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, and her commissioned work includes installations for the Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii State Capitol Building, Sheraton Maui, Toyota, Hawaii Pacific Health, Kapiolani Medical Center and Pacific Tsunami Museum.

She believes, In life, there is an energy that is constantly influencing us, felt but never seen. Through each stroke of her paint brush, she gives visible expression to this hidden energy, unveiling the inner beauty of life, people and places. “I love creating large-scale works in oil on linen in abstract and representational styles. Sitting in front of a stark white canvas, I feel like I am alone in the middle of the ocean – vulnerable, alive, connected. Inspiration and openness guide me as I lay down abstract strokes in my base layers, transcending forms until the painting is revealed. In this fragile, fleeting world, I seek to capture the energy and essence of these impermanent moments.”

Tracey Niimi is an award winning photographer, filmmaker, and seven-time Best of East Hawai‘i honoree that expanded into video production during the pandemic after a life-changing encounter with Kristie during a project. His background in portrait and landscape photography, plays a foundational role in his creative process as a filmmaker when planning and composing the look and feel of his work. His commercial projects include works for the Hawai‘i Visitor’s and Convention Bureau, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Merrie Monarch Festival, County of Hawai‘i, KHON2, University of Hawai‘i, Hawaiian Host Group (Mauna Loa), Nutrex Hawai‘i (BioAstin & Hawaiian Spiruluna), SERVCO and Big Island Toyota.

Tracey attributes much of his passion for photography to his mother and late grandfather who were both avid photography hobbyists. “There is a Japanese saying, お陰様で (okagesama de), which roughly translates to, ‘I am what I am because of you’ – it is an expression of appreciation which recognizes all of the efforts that have been made by others that have brought you to where you are today. I consider every image or video that I create to be the sum product of the inspiration and lessons I’ve learned while being raised in one of the most beautiful environments in the world and surrounded by some of the most talented artists of our time.”

Tracey is also a recorded artist and longtime friend of both Jake and Kristie who originally brought all three of them together to collaborate on their first mixed-media art piece which ultimately led to the formation of Abstract Collab.