Honolulu Academy of Arts

What Honolulu Academy of Arts does

The Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts, is a private nonprofit visual arts institution founded in 1922 and headquartered at 900 S. Beretania Street in Honolulu, Hawai'i. It self-describes as Hawai'i's largest and most significant visual arts organization, serving local residents, tourists, students, educators, families, and corporate partners through rotating exhibitions and a permanent collection spanning Asian, European, American, and Hawaiian art traditions. The museum operates Wednesday through Sunday and is staffed by 51–100 employees.

Its core products include rotating exhibitions, guided art tours, art classes, film screenings at the Doris Duke Theatre, the HoMA Café & Coffee Bar, the HoMA Shop, library and archives access, school and educator programs, Shangri La tours, corporate partnership tiers, event venue rentals, the Ipu Kā'eo paid internship program, and a volunteer program contributing more than 17,000 hours annually. Technology infrastructure is limited to standard website and ticketing systems with no proprietary platforms or AI capabilities disclosed.

The business model combines eight earned and contributed revenue streams: admission and ticket sales, annual memberships, café and retail sales, fee-based art classes, individual donations and planned giving, facility and photo-shoot rentals, and corporate sponsorships at Founder ($100k+), Director ($50k–$99k), and Curator ($25k–$49k) tiers. Distribution is anchored at the single Honolulu campus with online ticketing and e-commerce extending global reach. The museum is currently conducting a Centennial capital campaign and conducting an executive search for a new Director & CEO.

Name

Honolulu Academy of Arts

Legal name

Honolulu Museum of Art

Website

https://honolulumuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Honolulu Museum of Art is a private nonprofit visual arts institution in Honolulu, Hawai'i, serving residents, tourists, students, and corporate partners through rotating exhibitions, a permanent collection, art classes, film screenings, and supporting retail, café, and venue-rental programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Admission and Tickets: Revenue from museum admission tickets, tour bookings, and event/film screenings for visitors
2. Membership Program: Annual membership fees providing free entry and exclusive benefits to members throughout the year
3. Food and Beverage: HoMA Café & Coffee Bar serving casual contemporary cuisine and refreshments to museum visitors
4. Retail (HoMA Shop): Gift shop selling museum merchandise, artwork-inspired products, and specialty items
5. Art Classes and Education: Fee-based art classes and educational programs taught by practicing artists and educators
6. Donations and Planned Giving: Individual donations, corporate contributions, and legacy planned gift programs supporting museum operations and exhibitions
7. Facility Rentals: Rental of museum spaces for photoshoots, commercial filming, corporate events, and private gatherings
8. Location Fees: Fees for press, commercial, and non-commercial personal photo shoots at museum locations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), originally founded as the Honolulu Academy of Arts, is a nonprofit art museum that operates a physical gallery campus in Honolulu, Hawai'i. It offers rotating exhibitions spanning Asian, European, American, and Hawaiian art, supplemented by guided tours, art classes, film screenings, a café, a retail shop, school programs, and event venue rentals. The institution generates revenue through admissions, memberships, donations, retail, food service, and facility rentals.

Product overview

The Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) operates as a unified museum institution offering a comprehensive portfolio of cultural and educational services centered on visual arts. The core offerings include rotating and permanent art exhibitions spanning Asian, European, American, and Hawaiian art traditions, complemented by guided tours, art classes, film screenings at the Doris Duke Theatre, and research access through the Library and Archives. Supporting amenities include the HoMA Café & Coffee Bar and the HoMA Shop retail store. The institution also provides membership programs, school educational tours, Shangri La tours, and volunteer opportunities. Corporate engagement is facilitated through partnership tiers (Founder, Director, Curator levels), while event venue rentals and an internship program serve specialized audiences. The museum's offerings function as an integrated cultural destination rather than a modular software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Exhibitions Rotating exhibitions featuring diverse artistic traditions, including Asian, European, American, and Hawaiian art, displayed throughout the museum galleries for general public visitors.
• Guided Art Tours Guided tours of the museum's collection and exhibitions, including highlights tours, new exhibitions spotlights, and courtyard tours for visitors.
• Art Classes Art instruction programs led by practicing artists and educators, offering opportunities for creative development and engagement for students and adult learners.
• HoMA Café & Coffee Bar Casual dining venue serving contemporary cuisine with island-style hospitality, complementing the museum experience for visitors.
• HoMA Shop

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Mānoa Heritage CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with HoMA for artist residency program, hosting Al Lagunero during the Hawai'i Triennial 2025. Deep historical connection to museum founder Charles Montague Cooke.
• Hawai'i ContemporarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the Hawai'i Triennial, the state's largest thematic exhibition of contemporary art. HoMA has been venue partner since the Triennial launched in 2017.
• Bishop MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating venue for Hawai'i Triennial 2025, one of 13 participating sites presenting contemporary art across multiple islands.
• Capitol ModerncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating venue for Hawai'i Triennial 2025 as part of the multi-site exhibition across O'ahu, Maui, and Hawai'i Island.
• Foster Botanical GardencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating venue for Hawai'i Triennial 2025 as part of the multi-site exhibition across multiple locations.
• East Hawai'i Cultural CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating venue for Hawai'i Triennial 2025, marking first expansion to East Hawai'i.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bishop Museum: Honolulu-based cultural institution operating museum exhibitions and educational programs. Both serve Hawaiian residents and tourists as the state's two principal cultural museums, and are formal collaborators on the Hawai'i Triennial 2025.
• San Diego Museum of Art: Mid-sized regional art museum with rotating exhibitions, education programs, memberships, and corporate sponsorship tiers. Comparable in scale, mission, and programming mix to Honolulu Museum of Art.
• Phoenix Art Museum: Comparable-size regional art museum with rotating exhibitions, film programs, art classes, café, retail shop, and facility rentals. Operates on a similar diversified revenue model with similar mission and program mix.
• Contemporary Art Museum Honolulu: Honolulu-based contemporary art institution exhibiting living artists. Shares the same metropolitan market and target audience for contemporary exhibitions, including overlap with Hawai'i Triennial artists.

Broad incumbents

• Seattle Art Museum: Larger Pacific-coast art museum with similar global-and-local collection scope and education focus. Operates at greater scale with multiple sites, providing a benchmark for upside if HoMA expands.
• The Broad: Contemporary art museum offering ticketed general admission, membership, and rotating exhibitions. Comparable membership, retail, and educational programming model, though at a larger scale and with a more focused contemporary collection.

Emerging players

• Hawai'i Contemporary: Nonprofit co-organizer of the Hawai'i Triennial with HoMA. Closely partnered with HoMA since 2017, sharing curatorial and venue roles; a meaningful but not directly competing collaborator in the same artistic ecosystem.

Regional players

• 'Iolani Palace: Historic Honolulu cultural attraction offering tours, events, and educational programming. Competes for the same Honolulu visitor cultural-experience dollars, though its focus is historic site preservation rather than visual arts.
• Polynesian Cultural Center: Major O'ahu cultural-tourism attraction offering ticketed cultural experiences. Competes for tourist visitation spend in the same Hawaiian geography though focused on living cultural performance rather than visual arts.

Others

• Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design: Doris Duke's historic Honolulu Islamic art collection operated by HoMA via guided tours. Not a peer in the competitive sense, but is programmatically operated by and adjacent to Honolulu Museum of Art as an extension of its collection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/honolulumuseum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@honolulumuseum
• Facebookfacebook.com/honolulumuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/honolulumuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/honolulu-museum-of-art

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Honolulu Academy of Arts