Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Tom Nakashima, Barrier Against the Wind (recto), 2019; acrylic paint, newspaper collage, mixed media on Byôbu folding screen, 24 x 60 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches; Courtesy of the artist.
Celebrated each May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month recognizes and honors the contributions, achievements, and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans (AAPI) who have shaped the culture and history of the United States.
In 1942, in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, President Roosevelt signed into law Executive Order 9066. The law ordered the forced imprisonment of all Japanese Americans living on the west coast of the United States, which has the second largest population of Japanese people living outside of Japan.
Told from the point of view of Sansei (thirdgeneration) Japanese Americans, Resilience—A Sansei Sense of Legacy, features eight artists whose work reflects on the effect of EO9066 as it resonated from generation to generation.
Co-curated by artist Jerry Takigawa and Gail Enns, this exhibition was conceived to serve as a catalyst to cultivate social dialog and change around the issues of racism, hysteria, and economic exploitation still alive in America today.
Read what audiences in Topeka, Kansas have said about Resilience: 
“Breathtaking.”
“I didn’t even know we had concentration camps.”
“We never learned about this in school.”
“My mother was in an internment camp in northern CA.”
“It’s important that we don’t forget.”
Above Image Courtesy of the IMAS Museum (McAllen, TX)