Kayla Kuʻualoha Fernandez

Biography

Kayla is the Ethnology Collections Manager at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA. Her role centres on the care, stewardship, and activation of the museum’s ethnology collections. She oversees the upkeep of collection spaces; conducts inventories; manages a team of collection professionals; and collaborates with the curatorial team to coordinate exhibitions; public programmes; and initiatives related to repatriation and ethical returns. 

Currently, Kayla and her team are leading an ethical return to Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, which involves the return of more than 10,000 culturally significant artifacts that were removed from their home communities and deposited at the Bishop Museum. The first phase of this initiative has been completed and included the return of ten latte stones – culturally significant pillars that once supported traditional housing structures. 

Kayla recently authored an article for the Museum Association’s online platform, titled Making Decolonial Approaches Actionable. She also co-authored Relationships of Care with Nicola Crompton of the British Museum, featured in the catalogue for the upcoming British Museum exhibition Hawai’i: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans. 

At the British Museum
During Kayla’s time on the International Training Programme she was based in the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas and spent her UK partner placement at National Museums Northern Ireland.

As an ongoing project throughout the six-week programme, fellows were asked to use their existing skills and experience, and the knowledge gained throughout the annual programme, to create, develop, and propose a new interpretation for an object currently on display in the British Museum. Working in her departmental group, Kayla used their object, a hunting coat made from deer skin, to emphasise the importance of working with the community of origin when displaying objects significant to that culture.

Kayla’s participation on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Aall Foundation.