“Growing up in the 1950s and early 1960s, we were subjected to stereotypical portraits or invisibility,” Eddie Wong recalls. “We knew we could make a difference by providing an alternative in the form of books, photo exhibits, and eventually films and video.”
“The faces from the photographs staring up at me as I searched for my family in the National Archives have always haunted me,” Paul Kitagaki Jr., recalls. “I wanted to know the story behind the faces and discover how they survived and created a new life after the war.”
It took just seconds for U.S. President Ronald Reagan to sign the document. Yet the journey to that moment spanned more than four decades.
Artist/writer/performer Kip Fulbeck launched The Hapa Project in 2001, photographing more than 1,200 people of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander heritage. His intent was to raise awareness and understanding of multiracial people and to help them (especially children) form positive self-identities. The work led to a landmark ...
“Some people think my work looks like it’s speaking something like a megaphone,” says Shinpei Takeda. “And some people think it is trying to catch something, like a fishnet. Completely different. But I like that it can be both.”
“I will never forget seeing my great-grandfather’s photograph in his immigration case file,” Marisa Louie Lee recalls. “The moment I opened the folder and saw the spitting image of my grandfather in front of me, I knew it was him. I cried in the research room!”
Museum volunteer and docent James Tanaka thought something was missing from an exhibition and it bothered him.
In August 2016, Kyle Miyata Larson made sports history by becoming the first Japanese American driver to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series—NASCAR’s top level of racing.
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