Volcano Art Center

What Volcano Art Center does

Volcano Art Center (VAC) is a Hawaii-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and cultural organization founded in 1974, operating a fine arts cooperative gallery inside the historic 1877 Volcano House Hotel within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and an administrative and educational campus at Niaulani in Volcano Village. The organization represents handcrafted work by over 230 local Hawaiian artists across a catalog of roughly 1,500 SKUs spanning ceramics, glass, jewelry, photography, fiber arts, quilts, woodwork, paintings, Ni'ihau shell jewelry, and Dietrich Varez fine art prints; the consignment gallery model pays artists via monthly commission remittance. VAC monetizes through six streams: consignment commissions, an annual membership program with individual tiers from $25 to $1,800 and corporate tiers from $1,000 to $5,000, donations (one-time and recurring), fees for classes and workshops ($65-$245), ticketed live music and cultural events ($25-$30), and facility rentals at the Hale Ho'omana building. The organization runs award-winning cultural programming (Na Mea Hawai'i Hula Kahiko, currently suspended until 2027 due to volcanic activity), forest tours and restoration at the 5-acre Niaulani Rainforest (held under a 65-year State of Hawaii lease running to ~2061), and the Niaulani Sculpture Garden, with institutional partnerships including the National Park Service, Hawaii Tourism Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patagonia, Kamehameha Schools, Pacific Quest, Rotary Club of Kona, and KTA.

Name

Volcano Art Center

Legal name

Volcano Art Center

Website

https://volcanoartcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Volcano Art Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1974, operating a fine arts cooperative gallery inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and an educational campus at Niaulani in Volcano Village, serving tourists, residents, local artists, and school groups via art sales, classes, cultural programming, and rainforest stewardship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Arts Gallery and Cultural Education Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Art Dealers (459920), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAJADAH

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Museums, Galleries & Cultural Institutions

SECONDARYTHAJAKAA

Arts & Crafts Workshops (Painting, Pottery, Ceramics, Sculpture)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Workshops & Classes (Arts, Crafts, Skills & Local Lessons)

SECONDARYTHAHAAAG

Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums)

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Conference & Convention Venues (Convention Centers, Civic Centers)

Keywords

• Fine arts gallery
• Art education workshops
• Hawaiian cultural programs
• Nonprofit arts organization
• Rainforest educational tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Volcano

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Art Sales (Consignment): VAC operates a cooperative gallery selling handcrafted artwork by over 230 local Hawaiian artists on consignment. The gallery takes a commission on sales, with payment to artists mailed by the 15th of the following month after sales occur. Art categories include ceramics, glass, jewelry, woodwork, photography, paintings, fiber arts, and quilts.
2. Membership Dues: Annual membership program with multiple tiers ranging from $25 (senior/student) to $1,800 (Patron 2-year). New members pay $45 annually with 5% discount first year, upgrading to 10% upon renewal. Corporate and small business memberships also available.
3. Donations: Tax-deductible donations accepted via online PayPal, phone, or mail. One-time, recurring monthly, and end-of-year giving options available. Specific funds include Planned Giving & Endowment Program, Liko A'e Keiki Arts Program, and Love The Arts Sponsorship.
4. Classes and Workshops: Fees charged for art classes, workshops, and educational programs including ceramics, printmaking, painting, and cultural workshops. Examples include Adventures in Clay (8-week session $245/$220 for members), Needle Book Workshop ($65/$60 plus $25 supply fee), and Mokuhanga Japanese Woodblock Printing ($175/$150 plus $45 supply fee).
5. Event Tickets: Concert and performance ticket sales. Live music events have tickets starting at $25 for VAC members and $30 for non-members. Events include Jazz In The Forest and Sounds at the Summit concert series.
6. Facility Rentals: Rental of meeting spaces including Varez Hall and Front Classroom at Hale Ho'omana building at Niaulani Campus. Rates vary; rental requests submitted via form for approval.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Volcano Art Center operates a fine arts cooperative gallery showcasing handcrafted work by 230+ local Hawaiian artists, an e-commerce shop with 1,500+ products, art classes and workshops, and Hawaiian cultural programming including Hula Kahiko performances. It also runs guided tours of the 5-acre Niaulani Rainforest, live music concerts, an outdoor sculpture garden, and facility rentals at the Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village on the Big Island of Hawai'i.

Product overview

Volcano Art Center (VAC) is a nonprofit educational organization operating a dual-location arts and cultural institution. The organization combines a fine arts gallery (located in the historic 1877 Volcano House Hotel in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park) with the Niaulani Campus administrative and educational facility in Volcano Village. The portfolio includes the core gallery showcasing over 230 local Hawai'i artists' handcrafted works across ceramics, jewelry, photography, wood, glass, fiber arts, and prints; an e-commerce VAC Online Shop; the Hula Arts cultural programming; Rain Forest Tours at Niaulani; Classes & Workshops; Live Music Events; and the Niaulani Sculpture Garden outdoor exhibition space. Supporting offerings include facility rentals, membership programs, and donations. The center promotes, develops, and perpetuates artistic, cultural, and environmental heritage of Hawai'i's people through arts and education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Volcano Art Center Gallery Fine arts cooperative gallery showcasing handcrafted artwork by over 230 local Hawaiian artists across ceramics, glass, jewelry, woodwork, photography, paintings, fiber arts, and quilts. Located inside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and open daily 9am-5pm.
• VAC Online Shop

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Park Service (NPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVAC operates its main gallery within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service. The agreement, established since VAC's founding, allows the gallery to operate in the historic 1877 Volcano House Hotel as an enhancement to the park's interpretive programs. NPS requires that all items sold have direct relationship to Hawaiian culture and scenic/natural values of the park.
• Pacific QuestminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational and community group contributing volunteer hours (approximately 600 annually) to maintain and restore Niaulani Rainforest alongside other groups.
• Kamehameha SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational institution contributing volunteer hours to maintain and restore Niaulani Rainforest as part of their environmental education programs.
• State of HawaiicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVAC secured a 65-year lease from the State of Hawaii for the Niaulani property in 1996. The property was designated a Forest Reserve beginning in the 1920s due to its old-growth koa and 'ōhi'a canopy. The lease requires VAC to continue the generational legacy of stewardship set forth by state foresters.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Maui Arts & Cultural Center: Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC) is a Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit operating a gallery, performance venues, classes, and cultural programming with both visual-arts and Hawaiian-cultural programming — the same hybrid nonprofit arts model as VAC and a named reciprocal-museum partner.
• Lahaina Arts Society: Lahaina Arts Society operates nonprofit art galleries and exhibitions on Maui featuring local Hawaiian artists and cultural programming. Its gallery-and-cultural-events model directly parallels VAC's community-gallery approach, though it serves a different island.
• Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center: Hui Noʻeau is a nonprofit visual arts center on Maui offering classes, workshops, and exhibitions in a historic estate setting — the closest functional peer to VAC, sharing the nonprofit gallery + classes + cultural-heritage model. It is also a reciprocal-museum partner cited by VAC.
• East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center: East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center (Hilo) is a community nonprofit operating gallery exhibitions, classes, and cultural programming on the Big Island. It is a same-island peer in the nonprofit visual-arts and community-classes space, though smaller and without the NPS-park location.

Broad incumbents

• Honolulu Museum of Art: Honolulu Museum of Art is Hawaiʻi's largest art museum, operating permanent collections, traveling exhibitions, classes, and a retail shop. It is a much larger incumbent in the same Hawaiian fine-arts space but serves a different island and urban audience than VAC.
• Hawaii State Art Museum (HiSAM): HiSAM is a state-operated museum in Honolulu exhibiting contemporary Hawaiian art with a public-art collection and educational programs. It is a broader public-sector incumbent in Hawaiian visual arts comparable in mission, though state-run and on a different island.
• Bishop Museum: Bishop Museum is Hawaiʻi's premier cultural-heritage institution, operating extensive Hawaiian and Pacific collections, exhibitions, and cultural programming. It is a broader incumbent in the Hawaiian-cultural institution space that overlaps with VAC's Hula Arts and cultural-preservation mission.

Regional players

• ʻIolani Palace: ʻIolani Palace is a historic site and museum on Oʻahu operated by a nonprofit, offering tours, exhibitions, and cultural programming tied to Hawaiian heritage. It is comparable as a Hawaiian-heritage cultural institution, though it is a palace-museum rather than an art gallery and is on a different island.
• Imiloa Astronomy Center: Imiloa Astronomy Center is a Hilo-based nonprofit cultural and educational center linked to Maunakea, offering exhibits, programs, and visitor experiences. It shares the Hawaii-Island-based nonprofit cultural-education and visitor-programming model that complements VAC's rainforest-tours offering.

Others

• National Park Service Cooperating Association (e.g., Yellowstone Forever): Yellowstone Forever and similar NPS cooperating associations operate bookstores, galleries, and educational programs inside U.S. national parks under cooperative agreements. They share VAC's NPS-cooperative-agreement structure and educational-mission positioning, though in different geographies and with broader retail mixes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@VACgallery/featured
• Xx.com/VolcanoArtCentr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/volcano-art-ctr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 Volcano Art Center