Supernatural: The Art of Audrey Kawasaki, Edwin Ushiro, and Timothy Teruo Watters

Supernatural opens February 9th!

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

Supernatural: The Art of Audrey Kawasaki, Edwin Ushiro, and Timothy Teruo Watters

Supernatural: The Art of Audrey Kawasaki, Edwin Ushiro, and Timothy Teruo Watters opens this Saturday!

The exhibition features the work of Audrey Kawasaki, Edwin Ushiro, and Timothy Teruo Watters—artists who have explored some of these otherworldly concepts, illustrating how traditional ideas have evolved and been adapted over time.

The exhibition will be up from February 9 – March 17, 2013. That’s just 5 weeks to come check it out before it closes!

For more details, visit: janm.org/supernatural

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We are celebrating the opening with two FREE events!

TARGET FREE FAMILY SATURDAY
Art from the Heart
11AM – 4PM
FREE ALL DAY!
Celebrate Valentine’s Day and the opening of Supernatural exhibition! Show your love by making art for yourself and others. Participate in art workshops with Timothy Watters and Edwin Ushiro!

Check janm.org/target for schedule >> 

 

Supernatural Opening Party
6:30PM – 9PM
FREE!
Get mystical with JANM! Celebrate the opening of Supernatural with the artists and some spooky fun—wandering ghosts, a medium, and special treats!

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Learn more about the exhibition and the artists on our Discover Nikkei website. We’ll be adding an interview with Timothy Watters next week:

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Here are a few photos from the exhibition installation happening this week. Check our Facebook page for more photos: Supernatural photo album

 

Artist Edwin Ushiro prepares sketchbooks to display in the exhibition
Edwin Ushiro's sketchbooks
Paintings by Timothy Teruo Watters waiting to be hung

2013 Oshogatsu Festival photos

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

Thanks to everyone who joined us to celebrate the New Year & the Year of the Snake!

Over 2,800 came throughout the day for our 2013 Oshogatsu Family Festival on Sunday, January 6th to enjoy free crafts, performances & food.

Thanks so much to our volunteer photographers who captured all the fun—Caroline Jung, Russell Kitagawa, Daryl Kobayashi, Richard Murakami, and Tsuneo Takasugi.

Here’s a selection of the many, many photos they took to document the day!

(Click on the images to see the full photos)

 

For more Oshogatsu Family Festival photos, including from the Onigiri Design Contest, check out our photo album on our  JANM Facebook page >>

Early Bird Registration Ends 1/31/13!

Allyson Nakamoto Leave a comment
Scene from JANM’s 2008 National Conference in Denver. Photo by Tracy Kumono.

We are so excited that it is finally 2013… because our fourth national conference is just 6 months away! We hope that you and your family will join us.

Register before January 31 to receive the early bird rate for JANM’s 2013 National Conference, “Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, and Dignity.” If you register now, you will not only save money, but there are still spaces available for the trips to Bainbridge Island (bus tour) and/or the International District (bus tour and/or walking tour).

Here are some handy links:

– On-line registration

– Schedule of events and speakers

– Booking a room at the Sheraton Seattle at the lower, JANM rate

And a special shout out to our partners: Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington and University of Washington, Department of American Ethnic Studies. We couldn’t do any of this without them.

See you and your family in Seattle in July!

 

Giant Robot Artists’ Entourage

Lynn Yamasaki Leave a comment

Giant Robot Biennale 3 closed this past Sunday but not without some cool happenings.  As part of what we called Giant Robot Artists’ Entourage, some of the GRB3 artists came to teach their techniques and share a bit about their art making process.

Eric Nakamura, Albert Reyes, Saelee Oh, and Rob Sato, were super-generous with their creativity and led several great art making workshops and discussions.  On Saturday we concluded the GR Entourage program with a watercolor workshop by Rob Sato.

Rob Sato demonstrating a watercolor masking technique

 

In addition to the public workshops, a major part of Giant Robot Artists’ Entourage was a series of workshops for high school students.  The result was a display of work that was produced during the workshops AND as an added bonus, last Friday a group of students from our neighbors at Mendez Learning Center came by for a visit!  This great group of people included two of the Entourage participants who helped lead their teachers and fellow students through the GRB3 exhibition and the display of their work.  It was the perfect way to continue the learning and conversation.

Big thanks to all the artists who shared with us and to the students and teachers from Mendez Learning Center and The Los Angeles School of Global Studies.  We had a great time with you all!

Support for the Giant Robot Entourage program is provided by the National Endowment of the Arts.

Eric Nakamura and students viewing the custom figures in the Project Remix show
After going through the galleries with Eric, students had a chance to customize their own Big Boss Robot.

 

Looking at Saelee Oh's work in the galleries with Saelee
Saelee Oh demonstrating her cutout process

 

Albert Reyes teaching an image transfer technique

 

Students in the galleries discuss Ako Castuera's work.

 

Display of student artwork created during workshops with Eric Nakamura, Saelee Oh, and Albert Reyes.

Many thanks to Richard Murakami and Gary Ono for taking photographs to document the workshops!

 

 

Fighting For Democracy: Who is the "We" in "We, the People"?

“Fighting for Democracy” travels to Charlotte, NC

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

The traveling exhibition, Fighting For Democracy: Who is the “We” in “We, the People”? opens at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, North Carolina this Saturday!

Fighting For Democracy: Who is the "We" in "We, the People"?The Levine will be the 10th site where we have travelled this exhibition that presents the diverse perspectives of seven individuals whose lives and communities were forever changed by World War II.

The exhibition will be on display from January 19 through July 14, 2013. Go check it out this Sunday at the Levine Museum’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration 2013. Free admission, activities, & performances.

For more info about the MLK Celebration >>

 

If you are in the Charlotte area, or have friends & family who are, let them know about the exhibition!

Levine Museum of the New South
200 E. Seventh Street
Charlotte, NC 28202

For more information about the Charlotte presentation, contact 704.333.1887, or visit museumofthenewsouth.org.

For more information about the Fighting for Democracy exhibition >>

 

Giant Robot Biennale 3 Closing Party!

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

There are just 10 days left to come see (or see again!) the Giant Robot Biennale 3 exhibition before it closes on Sunday, January 20!

Giant Robot Biennale 3Come celebrate another successful Biennale at the GRB3 Closing Party on Thursday, January 17 from 6pm – 10pm (THAT’S NEXT WEEK!) with Giant Robot, JANM’s Young Professionals Network, and many of the artists from the exhibition.

It’s FREE!

Just go here to RSVP: grb3closingparty.eventbrite.com

For information about the exhibition, artist bios, images, videos, and more, visit janm.org/grb3.

 

JANM Young Professionals Network
The Young Professionals Network (YPN) furthers the mission of the Museum through philanthropic and social activities by connecting people in their 20s, 30s and 40s with a diverse and professional network that supports the growth of the Japanese American community. It provides young professionals with opportunities for community building, volunteering, fundraising, outreach and engagement. The YPN is governed by the New Leadership Advisory Council (NLAC) of the Japanese American National Museum.

2013 Oshogatsu Family Festival

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda 1 Comment

Celebrate the New Year & the Year of the Snake with JANM!

Join us on Sunday, January 6 from 11am – 5pm for a BIG day full of family-friendly fun activities, crafts, and cultural performances…and it’s all FREE!

We will have a lot of everyone’s favorite activities, plus Year of the Snake-themed crafts & more!

Here are a few highlights to look forward to:

– Mochitsuki performance & demonstration by Kodama Taiko

– Common Grains returns with the Onigiri Design Contest. Last year, this was so popular that we ran out of rice! This year, we’ll also have a rice tasting and you can purchase different varieties of rice. [Learn about how Common Grains got started in this article by founder Sonoko Sakai on our Discover Nikkei site: Common Grains]

– World-renowned candy artist Shaun Ichiyanagi also returns to make snake sculpture candy! (Everyone can watch, but the candy snakes are for children only & will be raffled off at the start of every hour)

– Learn how to play taiko with Bombu Taiko

– Reptacular Animals presents a Reptile petting zoo! Come meet real snakes and other cool reptiles!

– Special fukubukuro (lucky bag) sale at the Museum Store

Check janm.org/oshogatsufest for full schedule >>

Here are some photos from last year’s Oshogatsu Family Festival taken by volunteer Richard Watanabe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While you’re here, take advantage of the free admission all-day to check out Giant Robot Biennale 3 before it closes on January 20!

 

New Year's mochi by Hisako Hibi

Happy New Year!

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

Wishing you a Healthy & Happy New Year from the Japanese American National Museum!

New Year's mochi by Hisako Hibi
"New Year's mochi" by Hisako Hibi. Hisako Hibi Collection (99.63.2)

 

This image is from JANM’s permanent collection. It’s a painting by artist Hisako Hibi and features a still-life of kagami mochi / okasane.

On the back is this inscription:

Hisako Hibi. Jan 1943 at Topaz. Japanese without mochi (pounded sweet rice) is no New Year! It was very sad oshogatsu (New Year). So, I painted okazari mochi in the internment camp.

Our cultural traditions bring our families & communities together, and has the power to give us comfort.

Merry Christmas!

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

Merry Christmas from everyone at JANM!

Gift of Mine Okubo Estate (2007.62.155)

 

This image from the Mine Okubo Collection in our archives shows a family gathered around a cast iron stove to celebrate their first Christmas in camp. It is one of the drawings by artist Mine Okubo used for her book Citizen 13660 which shares life inside the Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz concentration camp during World War II.

It reminds us that in tough times, it’s still important to come together and celebrate with family & friends. Kodomo no tame ni. For the sake of our children, we must continue on.

Wishing you & your loved ones a Happy & Healthy Holidays!