“We are deeply grateful for this support that will help JANM meet its most urgent and immediate needs and help to stabilize the Museum during this time of great uncertainty,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM President and CEO. “We are indebted to the generosity of this group of funders, and particularly to Darren Walker, the President of the Ford Foundation, whose visionary leadership is effectively changing the inequity in grant making that has historically overlooked organizations that represent America’s rich cultural diversity. This has become starkly apparent as the impact of closures and reduced revenue places the future of so many arts and cultural organizations at risk, especially those that do not have the benefit of generations of wealth backing them.”

What is the role of art as we get out the vote and build larger movements for change? In this national conversation with engaged artists held on October 29, 2020, hear about the importance of voting in both local and national elections, using art to challenge and shift culture, and how we build powerful—and beautiful—movements.

Panelists: Glenn Kaino, conceptual artist; Kristina Wong, performance artist and elected official; and Claudia Peña, interim Executive Director of For Freedoms. Moderated by Caroline Klibanoff, Program Manager of Made By Us.

JANM’s Contested Histories: Art and Artifacts from the Allen Hendershott Eaton Collection pop-up display traveled to the 2019 Jerome/Rowher Pilgrimage in Little Rock, Arkansas to engage Pilgrimage attendees. Organized by the Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages, the event took place from April 11-14. Sharon Ideta Fukushima recognized her father, Takashi Ideta, in one of the photographs in the collection where he is standing by a nameplate at the Jerome concentration camp. She and her family came to see the display, bringing the original nameplate, and shared what this family connection means to them.

JANM Collections Associate Shawn Iwaoka provides a look at the art and artifacts of Issei photographer J.T. Sata. Donated to JANM’s permanent collection in 2005, Sata’s Modernist photography can be explored through an exclusive look at his professional archives.

To learn more about J.T. Sata’s life watch this short video from JANM’s 2016 Making Waves: Japanese American Photography, 1920–1940 exhibition.

Read more about Sata’s work and life here.

Learn more about JANM’s permanent collection go to janm.org/collections.

What was it like to be gay and Japanese American decades ago? What is it like now? JANM partnered with Okaeri and Visual Communications on June 18, 2020, to present multi-generational conversations between actor and activist George Takei and USC student Justin Kawaguchi; and June Lagmay, a founder of Asian/Pacific Lesbians and Gays, with Aya Tasaki, a bicultural advocate and organizer.

JANM was honored to have the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California as the first site to host the Contested Histories pop-up display on June 23–24, 2018.

On September 18, 2020, Mitsuko Brooks and Reiko Fujii were invited for a virtual artist talk to share about their creative practices, and their roles as artists during political unrest. The two artists connected over using art as a means of emotional, mental, and spiritual processing, and a tool for confronting trauma. Brooks and Fujii first met through the Asian American Women’s Artists Association, and more recently have been keeping correspondence through mail art. Mail art as a medium becomes a timestamp document of their internal landscapes, reflecting the social and political issues of our time.

Discover Nikkei is JANM’s international community-based web project sharing stories and the experiences of Nikkei around the world. “Nima” are members of the Discover Nikkei online community. Hailing from all around the world, they each bring unique experiences and perspectives to the site’s rich archive of stories.

“Nima Voices” is a new interview series where we uplift our Nima—members of Discover Nikkei’s online community. The inaugural episode, livestreamed on October 27, 2020, featured Japanese Canadian Chuck Tasaka with guest host, actor and comedian Kyle Mizono. Chuck talked about unique Canadian Nikkei foods; how Greenwood, BC became the first Japanese Canadian internment center during WWII and remained a Nikkei community after the war; Nisei nicknames; his Nikkei heroes; and more.

Title IX passed in 1972 and gave women equal opportunity in education and sports in most colleges and universities. There have been numerous articles recently written about the successes of women athletes because of Title IX. However, nothing has been noted about the fight for this civil and gender rights.

One woman who fought doggedly and passionately advocating women’s issues in Congress, including gender rights, was Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002). She garnered critical support for the passage of Title IX when at the time there were only eight women who were members of Congress. She felt a special burden to bear to speak for all women because they didn’t have people who could express their concerns for them adequately.

Mink was a trailblazer—the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the first Asian American woman to serve in Congress, and the first Asian American to run for President in the 1972 election.

The 12th Annual Kokoro Craft Boutique is going virtual this year! From November 14–30, shoppers can shop online or by phone with many familiar crafters, plus some new ones.

A video featuring many of our talented crafters talking about their beautiful, hand-crafted products, as well as photos from all our participating crafter/vendors will be posted on YouTube.com/janmdotorg starting on Saturday, November 14.

VENDORS:

Shoppers’ purchases from November 14–30 will support JANM’s education programs. Buy products from vendors directly and write “Kokoro2020” on all of your orders. JANM will receive a portion from each purchase!

Visit janm.org/kokoro or email the JANM volunteers at [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

Nothing says “home” like familiar tastes. Throughout time and the Nikkei diaspora, immigrants have learned how to bring the flavors of home to the table through ingenuity and tenacity. In this interactive program, learn how early immigrant communities adapted traditional Japanese cooking in these new environments.

Join foodways scholar Valerie Matsumoto for a dive into JANM’s collection, early Japanese American food history, and how these food trends continue to the present day. JANM Director of Collections Management and Access, Kristen Hayashi, will share some items from the archives that highlight Japanese American resilience in the kitchen. Then, learn how to cook the staples of Japanese American cooking with cookbook author and designer, Azusa Oda, in an easy cooking demo and tutorial.

The USC Pacific Asia Museum, the Chinese American Museum, and JANM present "Stronger Together: Black Liberation and Asian Solidarity." Join a discussion on this historic moment in the movement for Black lives, and the importance of cross-movement solidarity and coalitional consciousness.

Panelists include Melina Abdullah, Co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and Professor of Pan-African Studies, Warren T. Furutani, Co-founder of the Manzanar Committee and former California State Assemblymember, and Kai Naima Williams, Author and Executive Director of Eat At The Table Theatre Company. The conversation will be moderated by Sandra So Hee Chi Kim, Founder and Co-Executive Director of Asian American Justice + Innovation Lab. They will reflect on the history of Black-Asian solidarity and what we can learn from the past in order to live in a liberated future. The panel will also offer thoughts on how we move forward following the much anticipated November 3rd presidential election results.

In the summer of 1973, four years after the Star Trek TV series ended, activists encouraged George Takei to run for the Los Angeles City Council seat vacated by Tom Bradley, who had just been elected the first African American mayor of Los Angeles. His name recognition, coupled with his interest in political issues and experience as an active volunteer in other campaigns, prepared Takei for a hard-fought battle on a platform of affordable housing, public transportation, and public safety. It was an extremely close race that Takei ultimately lost, coming in second to David Cunningham. If elected, Takei would have been the first Asian American to serve on the LA City Council; as it was, that landmark would not come for another 12 years.

The campaign poster on this 11 oz. mug is part of JANM’s permanent collection, gifted by George Takei. The slogan on the other side of the mug is a contemporary addition.

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We’ve partnered with The 2020 Project on a mission to register 100,000 Asian American and Pacific Islanders to vote. We are doing this by raising awareness, providing education, and giving a space for civic engagement on the local, regional, and national scale. Voter participation for Asian Americans is especially low for age range 18-34. The 2020 Project hopes to close that gap and have more representation reflected in policy change and implementation!