The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, Wash., announced a new exhibit featuring three Issei (first-generation) Japanese artists who were incarcerated during World War II (WWII), according to a Newswire press release.
Titled Side by Side: Nihonmachi Scenes by Tokita, Nomura, and Fujii, the exhibit is the largest ever showcase of work from Kamekkichi Tokita (1897-1948), Kenjiro Nomura (1896-1956), and Takuichi Fujii (1891-1964). The collection spans their creative oeuvre from their paintings of pre-war 1930s Nihonmachi (Japantown) to journals chronicling their experiences in WWI incarceration camps.
Sponsored by Art Works, The National Endowment for the Arts, 4 Culture, and the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the exhibit is curated by Barbara Johns, PhD, who expressed excitement about being able to present an intimate look into the pre-WWII Nihonmachi experience.
“I am deeply pleased to work with the Wing Luke Museum on this exhibit,” she said, according to the press release. “These three artists called this community home, worked in the community, and in their paintings, give us a palpable sense of their connection to it. This exhibit serves as a tribute to the artists’ achievements at the height of their recognition. At the same time, it also serves as a historical record as told from a uniquely personal perspective, a reminder of the strength and vitality of the early Japanese American community.”
The exhibit’s goal of reintroducing the work of three Issei artists who have since been forgotten aligns strongly with the museum’s dedication to Asian American culture, art, and history.
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“The Museum’s work focuses on preserving Asian American art, history, culture and heritage,” said Wing Luke Museum Executive Director Joël Barraquiel Tan. “Side by Side, which features these once-overlooked artists and many long-gone structures and sights in the C-ID, perfectly embodies the essence of our work. We hope the community turns out to rediscover these important artists, and to go back in time to see the neighborhood as it once was.”
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