Nicole Naone is a weapon of Kanaka Maoli and Korean ancestry based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Best known for her acts of resistance on the frontlines of both Hawaiian protests and within influential institutions, her diverse practice spans film, sculpture, and virtual reality spaces.  An alumna of the prestigious Sundance Institute Indigenous Program and the recipient of the David H. and Doris C. Crowell Award of Excellence from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (BFA), Naone is acclaimed for her impactful film works, including the landmark feature film WAIKIKI (Producer, 2020) and the MTV spot Hawaiians, Unite (Writer/Director, 2021). Her extensively cited installations—Mauna Fuji (2014), Kalaoke o Mākua (2019), PIKO (2021), and Bikini and the Bikini (2023)—further underscore her pivotal role at the intersection of art and justice for the Hawaiian community.

I come from a long line of warriors. It is this genealogical connection that continues to shape my process and imaginations of both the limitations and potentials of creating art that protects and fights for my community on a variety of levels. Grounded in developing platforms in which art can invigorate news forms of relations between higher forms of thought and community, I aim to convey that the ever-expanding battlefields of the 21st century have not imprisoned Indigenous peoples as merely survival artists - but rather illustrate the dynamic nature in which we actively combat these mutations of colonization.

ʻO NICOLE ALOHALANI NAONE kēia keiki. He keiki a Alika Naone (k), ku‘u mākuakane, he hiapo a Kapiʻolani Kawaiaea (w), ku‘u makuahine. ʻO Alika he keiki a Naalohaelua Naone (k). He hiapo a Lyons Kapiioho Naone (k) a Kahiliula Auoholani (w) ma Waialua, Oʻahu. He keiki a Kawaiolaʻakane (k) a Kawahineaukai Holi (w). He keiki a Mele Papa (w) a Kamaʻiholio Keawemauhili (k). He keiki a Kahālaupiloo Keawemauhili (k) a Kanaheleaumoku (w). He keiki a Kūʻōpā (k) a Poekalani (w). He mau keiki niaupio a, Kanoaokalani (k) a Kaʻōnohialiʻi (w). He mau keiki niaupio a Kaʻailupeʻa (w) a Kekauhiwamoku (k) ma Maui . ʻO Kekauhiwamoku he keiki a Holau (w) a Kekaulike Kalaninui Kuihonoikamoku.