The U.S. Department of Education caught a glimpse of Hawaii on Wednesday, with the help of a group of award-winning young artists from the Islands.

Eight Hawaii students were among a group of 34 young artists who traveled to D.C. from around the country for the opening of a pair of exhibits displaying their work. The students also participated in an art workshop with Honolulu artist Carl Pao, who teaches art at Kamehameha Schools. 

One of the goals of the workshop was to get students to “unlearn what they think art might be,” Pao told DC808. 

Pao said that being in Washington also provides an opportunity to challenge assumptions people have about Hawaii. He was also in the nation’s capital in May, when the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian showcased some of his work in an exhibit called This IS Hawai‘i.

“My message was to try to educate the community here about identity issues back home,” Pao said. “The so-called struggle to be recognized and do we need to even be recognized? Looking into our political history and trying to educate people about that. I use the term aboriginal Hawaiian as opposed to Native Hawaiian or indigenous Hawaiian because that’s how we recognized ourselves back in the day. We were aboriginal Hawaiian.” 

Pao notes that there are still plenty of misconceptions out there about what it means to be from Hawaii. 

“I do still get, ‘Oh, what kind of homes do you live in? Do you have Internet?’ All that kind of stuff,” Pao said. “But that’s what we of Hawaii project about ourselves, too. It’s what Hollywood does. Changing that, it’s a matter of people wanting to know and us wanting to let people know.”

Check out a small sampling of the works by Hawaii artists that we saw on display in the U.S. Department of Education’s Lyndon B. Johnson building.

“Puzzled Life,” by Ryan Gibbs, age 17, Leilehua High School 

“Piecing Together Me,” by Karen Luu, age 15, Farrington High School

“Suarez’ Composure,”by Beethoven Sausal, age 15, Waipahu High School