Kekai Robinson stands as both a cultural practitioner and artist, embodying a larger movement to reclaim Native Hawaiian identity and artistry. In all facets of her work, she embodies a profound philosophical approach: Pipili i ke ano o nā kūpuna, following the model of our ancestors. Her art serves not only serves as visual connection to ancestral wisdom but as an educational and spiritual bridge between the past and the present. Her contributions have elevated Hawaiian feather work to new audiences while keeping its sacred traditions intact. Her journey is deeply rooted in a cultural responsibility to perpetuate ancestral knowledge by blending generational traditional techniques with contemporary sensitivity that respects protocol, meaning, and the precious value of Hawaiʻi’s natural cultural resources.   

A native of Nā Poko o Nā Wai ʻEhā on the island of Maui, she currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Department of ʻŌiwi Resources for the County of Maui and owner of Hoʻāla Consulting, LLC. She was a singer-songwriter for the wāhine Hawaiian music trio Ahumanu and continues to travel on tour with Hawaiian music legend, Kumu Hula Kealiʻi Reichel. She is a practitioner of traditional Hawaiian chant with Hālau Nā Hanona Kūlike ʻo Piʻilani and the past Poʻokula of Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani Hawaiian culture immersion in ʻĪao Valley. She resides in Waiehu on the island of Maui with her ʻohana and her five dogs.