Lloyd Harold Kumulā‘au Sing, Jr. & May Haunani Balino-Sing

Lloyd Harold Kumulāʻau Sing, Jr. and May Haunani Balino-Sing are Hawaiian twined basketry artists, educators, and cultural stewards who have played a central role in the revival of ulana ʻie, a traditional Hawaiian weaving practice using the aerial rootlets of the native ʻieʻie vine (Freycinetia arborea). Through more than four decades of shared work, the Sings have helped restore a nearly lost art form while training new generations of practitioners grounded in cultural knowledge, environmental care, and community responsibility.

When the Sings began their work in the 1990s, ʻieʻie basketry was practiced by only a small number of elders and faced the risk of disappearing. Drawing on ancestral knowledge and cultural protocols, they committed themselves to learning, preserving, and teaching this demanding form of twined weaving. Their approach emphasizes not only technical mastery, but also mālama ʻāina—care for the land—along with intergenerational learning, spiritual balance, and respect for Hawaiian values.

Together, the Sings founded Ke Kumu Hawaiʻi, an organization dedicated to cultural education and the transmission of traditional Hawaiian arts. Through this work, they have led year-long cohort-based training programs on Maui, the Big Island, and Oʻahu, mentoring more than 70 students in ʻieʻie harvesting, preparation, and weaving. Many of their students have gone on to become teachers themselves, helping to ensure the continued vitality of the tradition across the islands.

The Sings’ work has been presented widely in Hawaiʻi and beyond. Their baskets and fiber works have been featured in major exhibitions, including Nā Akua Ākea: The Vast and Numerous Deities (2024) at Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum in Honolulu; exhibitions at the Maui Historical Society’s Bailey House Museum in Wailuku; and Pāʻieʻie: The Rise of Hawaiian Twining (2023) at Hawaiʻi Community College in Hilo. They have also shared their knowledge through presentations and demonstrations at institutions such as the Bishop Museum, Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center, and the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua’s Celebration of the Arts.

Internationally, the Sings have represented Hawaiʻi at the 2019 LIMA Weaving Conference in Taiwan and collaborated with the British Museum in 2022 to examine and curate Hawaiian fiber works. This collaboration culminated in the 2026 exhibition Hawaiʻi: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans, where some of their woven works were featured, with a community book, Ulana ʻIe: Generations Entwined, documenting their thoughts and living practice of Hawaiian twined basketry.

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