Category: News & Announcements

Go Arkansas — woooooo pig sooie!

Allyson Nakamoto Leave a comment
Parkview High School (Little Rock) Student Mural, 2005. Photo by Richard M. Murakami.

 

It’s football season and the team that I follow is the University of Arkansas. No, I didn’t go to school there, but I am a huge fan. (Shall we call the hogs now?)

Why Arkansas?

Oddly enough, because Arkansas was the site for two government-run WWII concentration camps that unlawfully held 16,000 Japanese Americans. It was a virtually unknown story in the state for six decades. But thanks to a partnership between the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and JANM, a multi-year project called Life Interrupted: The Japanese American Experience in World War II Arkansas culminated in 2004 with a number of exhibitions, educational programs, and a national conference. We hope that we might have collectively learned a little bit more about the Japanese American experience in the state, and specifically more about Rohwer and Jerome. Definitely, JANM staff and volunteers learned lots from Arkansans of all ages.

Detail of quilt created by elementary school students at Little Rock’s Gibbs Magnet School of International Studies and Foreign Languages, 2004. Photo by Richard M. Murakami.

You might be interested in a seven minute video of Arkansas students talking about what they learned. While you’re watching it, keep in mind that we arrived at these schools with a video camera and very little warning: major kudos go to these poised young people and their outstanding teachers!

Speaking of which, UALR’s Web site has all of the project’s teacher-created curriculum available for download–for free.

JANM, in 2005, followed up on the Life Interrupted project with an exhibition of murals made at Rohwer High School, Lasting Beauty: Miss Jamison and the Student Muralists. The murals on display here were just the tip of the iceberg of JANM’s holdings from the collection of student artwork and other camp-related memorabilia donated by former Rohwer art teacher, Mabel Rose Jamison Vogel–known to her students as Miss Jamison. This exhibition also proudly featured a new student mural, pictured at the top of this blog post. This beautiful mural was created by the students (shown below) at Little Rock’s Parkview High School as a modern-day response to the WWII-era murals. Painters of all ages pitched in to help, too.

Parkview HS students with their mural at JANM. Photo by Richard M. Murakami.

And now we are excited to announce that more Rohwer artwork and memorabilia are on exhibit! The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies–the institution that holds the other part of the Vogel Collection–has created an exhibition called The Art of Living: Japanese American Creative Experience at Rohwer. We hope you can get to Little Rock before November 26 to see it!

And in case you miss the exhibition, there are also new and exciting Arkansas-based preservation efforts afoot, including restoring the Rohwer cemetery, as well as new signage and an audio tour in development from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Arkansas Delta Rural Heritage Development Initiative.

(Okay, seriously, now shall we call the hogs?)

Entrance to Rohwer, 2004. Photo by Richard M. Murakami.

Drawing From Memory

Maria Kwong Leave a comment

Just one more reminder about the Allen Say event this weekend. Don’t want any fans to miss the opportunity to see some original artwork and to hear Allen speak about this special book. There’s also a great review (one of the many this book has received) on this web site. You have to go to “D” and search for the title Drawing From Memory to access the review.

This is my favorite photo from the book. Sensei Noro Shinpei looks like a cowboy even though he’s wearing a kimono. You can sense the excitement and promise in the wistful young Allen.

Purchase the book from the Museum Store Online >>

2011-2012 Museum Store Catalog is coming your way!

Maria Kwong Leave a comment

I just uploaded the new catalog items to our web store. The catalogs went to the post office yesterday and should be arriving at your homes soon.

Just an FYI, there are a few items whose arrival will be later in the season. Look for our big launch of the “Farewell to Manzanar” DVD in October. There is a long story about how this film is finally being made available for sale after 35 years. You will be hearing more about this historic event soon.

Some of our items are coming from far-off lands like France and Japan. And one new item is a special Museum product (you will see it on the cover!) which is making its way on a boat from China. But click on the new catalog cover on the janmstore.com homepage and start making your wish lists for the holidays!

We hope you enjoy the selections we’ve sourced for you this year. And remember to shop, share and support us through the store!

Check out the 2011-12 Museum Store Catalog online >>

9066 to 911 DVD

9066 to 9/11 — JANM-Produced Film Available on Comcast!

Akira Boch Leave a comment

In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the JANM-produced film “FROM 9066 TO 9/11” is available in Comcast’s cable VOD service, Cinema Asian America for the month of September.

About the film:

After the attacks of September 11, there was an instant public backlash against Arab Americans and Muslims.  Anyone who looked like the “enemy” became suspect.  The same thing happened to Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the parallels were obvious.  Unfortunately, the backlash against Japanese Americans during World War II resulted in the mass incarceration of 120,000 innocent people.  It became the mission of many Japanese American individuals and community groups, including the Japanese American National Museum, to use our community’s history in order to protect the rights of our Arab American and Muslim brothers and sisters. As we all know, if we forget our history, we may find ourselves repeating it.

Features interviews with: Yuri Kochiyama, Rev. Art Takemoto, Jerry Kang, Dr. Art Hansen, Linda Sherif, Ban Al-Wardi, Tajuddin Shuaib, and Evelyn Yoshimura.

About the VOD service, Cinema Asian America:

Cinema Asian America is a ground-breaking new video-on-demand offering, which features Asian American films and videos in a monthly, thematically-programmed format.

For the first time, millions of viewers across the nation are able to watch a curated series of Asian American and Asian films, which will collect together award-winning films fresh from the film festival circuit and classics which beg to be revisited.

From September 1, 2011 – September 31, 2011, “FROM 9066 TO 9/11” will be available to all Comcast digital cable subscribers with On-Demand.  It is available for $0.99/view.

9066 to 911 DVD

To watch:

Through your digital cable menu, click on the “On Demand” button, and then look under the “Movies” folder. In this will be a “Movie Collections” folder and inside of this viewers will find “Cinema Asian America” and will be able to access “FROM 9066 to 9/11.”

Thank you, and please help spread the word!

p.s. For those who don’t have Comcast but are interested in watching the film, it’s available on DVD from the Museum Store.

Discover Nikkei -Taiko Groups

Discover Nikkei Taiko Database returns!

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

In 2005, we opened the Big Drum: Taiko in the United States exhibition. It was the first exhibition since my joining the Web unit at JANM where we really developed a lot of cool resources online in conjunction with an exhibit. I had the opportunity to work with curator Sojin Kim, our web technologist Geoff Jost, and volunteer writers to develop & upload a lot of great historic and contemporary photos, activities, and articles on the exhibition site.

I also worked with Discover Nikkei coordinator Yoko Nishimura and staff at our Watase Media Arts Center to add many wonderful video interview clips on our Discover Nikkei website.

The other major component we developed was a database of taiko groups in the U.S., but also included some other groups outside of Japan. We set up the database using some basic info collected for the exhibition. Then, we contacted all of the groups and invited them to log in and update/add to their group info, and upload some photos & audio clips.

Although most never logged in, there were quite a few groups that did participate. The most notable was San Jose Taiko who added extensive information about their group’s history. Others included Portland Taiko, Fubuki Taiko, Somei Yoshino Taiko, and University of Tasmania Taiko Society.

It was always so interesting to look at what groups had added information because it showed the growth and popularity of taiko. There were groups all over the U.S. (even in places where there aren’t many Japanese Americans), and many in Canada, and even in Europe (there are 4 groups listed in Belgium)!

After the initial activity during the exhibition run, not many of the groups updated their info. When the redesigned Discover Nikkei site went live in July 2009, we launched it without the Taiko Database, always intending to add it back in once we had some time to work on it.

It’s been 2 years, but I’m really excited that we recently launched our new & improved Taiko Groups section! It has the old database info, photos, and audio clips, but presented in a new layout with easier accessibility, and incorporates events posted by the groups onto their taiko group pages.

San Jose Taiko has already started updating their info and we hope that other groups will join them soon.

Check out the new & improved Taiko Groups >>

P.S. If you are with or know of any taiko groups, please encourage them to update their pages! It’s a great & free way to share your group’s contact info, general info, history, photos, audio clips, videos, and upcoming events!

If you need help with your group’s login info, or if your group is not already listed and you’d like to be added, contact editor@discovernikkei.org.

Discover Nikkei -Taiko Groups

Farewell from Akemi Kikumura Yano

Akemi Kikumura Yano 1 Comment

After more than three years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Japanese American National Museum, I have reached my last day in that position with a sense of gratitude and pride. Over the years, I have witnessed the Museum’s remarkable growth and maturity and I am confident that I am leaving it in good hands with a strong foundation.

My feeling of gratitude extends to all of the Museum’s supporters, volunteers, staff and leadership, who have built that foundation over the last quarter of a century. As the Board of Trustees continues the process to select a new CEO, I feel strongly that the Museum will not miss a beat since the Trustees appointed Nancy Araki, Director of Community Affairs, and Miyoko Oshima, Chief Operating Officer, as interim co-Executive Directors. Soon, a new head of the Museum will be chosen and a new era will begin, one that I feel holds enormous promise and possibilities.

For me personally, there are many projects that I have yearned to pursue for some time, but could not because of the demands of my former position. Most of these ideas were formed during my years as a curator and a program director at the Museum, and I feel the time to bring them to fruition is now. As such, I begin my own new era today.

I have been honored to serve the Japanese American National Museum in different capacities and to work together with a host of talented and dedicated individuals. While I am moving on to other things, there will always be a part of me here at the Japanese American National Museum.

Sincerely,

AKEMI KIKUMURA YANO
President & CEO

For more information, go to:
www.janm.org/press/release/297/

2011 Lexus winner Karen Nakawatase with Tammie Kanda of Toyota

2011 Lexus Opportunity Drawing Winner!

Darryl Mori Leave a comment
Congratulations to Karen Nakawatase of Fountain Valley, CA, winner of the 2011 Lexus Opportunity Drawing! Nakawatase was the recipient of a new Lexus RX450h hybrid, courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. Her winning ticket was drawn on April 16, 2011, at the Japanese American National Museum’s annual Gala Dinner & Silent Auction in Los Angeles. Nakawatase (left) is pictured here with Tammie Kanda of Toyota (right).
2011 Lexus winner Karen Nakawatase with Tammie Kanda of Toyota
Photo by Nobuyuki Okada
Thank you to everyone who supported the drawing, which raised more than $120,000 in donations to support diversity education programs at the Japanese American National Museum.

Baseball survey–earn a chance to win tickets to a game!

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

A grad student needs help with her research. She’s seeking Dodger fans to participate in an online survey and paid focus group. She’s been having problems getting enough Asian American representation in her study, so if you qualify, please help her out!

Hello. My name is Jen and I am looking for hometown Dodger fans (22 and up) who are willing to share their thoughts in a paid focus group. The goals of the focus group are to find out what qualities you think make professional athletes successful or unsuccessful in different roles within the sport of baseball and to find out how you describe and tell stories about these baseball players. You don’t need to be a superfan and know every single detail about the Dodgers, but you should be someone who follows the team more or less throughout most parts of the season.  (It is okay if you have more than one favorite team, as long as you also follow the Dodgers). You also need to be living in Los Angeles OR the L.A. metropolitan area.

If you are interested, fill out the form on the attached link. If you are eligible, you will be contacted to participate in one focus group sometime in August. The group will last 1-2 hours. You will compensated $20 cash for time/travel. Furthermore, each participant will be entered into a raffle to win their choice of $200 cash or Field Level seats to a home game in September.  This is a great chance to earn a little cash talking baseball!

LINK TO REGISTER: http://www.tinyurl.com/dodgerfansurvey

Please email jennifer.mcgovern@temple.edu if you have any questions.

**I am an independent researcher interested in sports, sports media, and fan narratives. This research is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the Dodgers**  This information is approved by Temple University for public display and is associate with project #13468

 

Help us with a survey!

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

This fall, the Japanese American National Museum is participating in Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, a project initiated from grants from the Getty Foundation. Pacific Standard Time is a collaboration of more than fifty cultural institutions across Southern California, which are coming together for six months beginning October 2011 to tell the story of the birth of the Los Angeles art scene and how it became a major new force in the art world. Each institution will make its own contribution to this grand-scale story of artistic innovation and social change, told through a multitude of simultaneous exhibitions and programs.

The Museum will open its new exhibition, Drawing the Line: Japanese American Art, Design & Activism in Pos-War L.A., with an opening event on Saturday, October 15, 2011 (more details to come!). Drawing the Line will feature works of art and design that give a sense of the complex role of cultural production in the creation of community in Japanese American Los Angeles.

All of the partners in this ground-breaking collaboration have been asked to issue a survey to its members and supporters in preparation for this project. The survey will collect general responses on attitudes about arts and culture in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California.

The questionnaire will take about 10-15 minutes to complete and your responses are confidential. The survey closes September 1st. Thank you!

Take the survey online >>