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UID:events.uid.1340@www.discovernikkei.org
DTSTART:20060616T000000Z
DTEND:20060827T000000Z
DESCRIPTION:JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM’S ‘BIG DRUM’ EXHIBITION
  \nSET FOR OREGON NIKKEI LEGACY CENTER JUNE 16 TO AUGUST 27\n\nLOS ANGELES
 .—A traveling version of the Japanese American National Museum’s landm
 ark exhibition\, <em><a href="http://www.janm.org/exhibits/bigdrum">Big Dr
 um: Taiko in the United States</a></em>\, will be installed at the Oregon 
 Nikkei Legacy Center (ONLC) in Portland\, Oregon\, beginning Friday\, June
  16\, and running through August 27.\n\n<em>Big Drum</em> premiered in Los
  Angeles last year at the National Museum\, coinciding with the 2005 North
  American Taiko Conference in July. Through the use of media presentations
 \, artifacts\, photographs and artwork\, the exhibition told the remarkabl
 e story of how the transplanted Japanese cultural art of ensemble taiko (J
 apanese for “big drum” or “fat drum”) took root in the U.S. in the
  1960s and 1970s in Japanese American communities and grew in popularity t
 o the point that over 200 groups now exist in 24 states as well as Canada.
 \n\nUnlike other Japanese cultural arts\, taiko developed simultaneously i
 n America and Japan in the post-World War II era and groups from both coun
 tries have shared influences for 30 years. The early Japanese American gro
 ups could not afford the costly drums from Japan\, however\, and created t
 heir own tradition of building their own out of wine barrels and available
  materials.\n\nPortland Taiko was among the 80 groups who collaborated wit
 h the National Museum in the creation of the original exhibition\, which w
 as made possible in part through a grant from the National Endowment for t
 he Arts. The traveling version will feature artifacts and photographs from
  Northwest taiko groups as well as extensive video presentations\, outlini
 ng how many Japanese American communities created their own taiko groups a
 s an expression of their identity and a reconnection to their heritage.\n\
 n“Big Drum: Taiko in the United States tells a compelling story about an
  aspect of American history and culture\,” observed June Schumann\, Exec
 utive Director of the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center. “We wanted this exhib
 it to provide context for the Regional Taiko Gathering taking place in Por
 tland\, Oregon during the weekend of June 16-18 when over 100 taiko perfor
 mers from the Northwest U.S. and British Columbia will be in town for taik
 o workshops and concerts. The Portland Nikkei community and ONLC has a str
 ong working relationship with the Japanese American National Museum that s
 tarted in 1992 with the development of an exhibition\, In This Great Land 
 of Freedom: Issei Pioneers of Oregon. The arrangements for the traveling v
 ersion of Big Drum to come to Portland is another example of how a major n
 ational museum works with local organizations across the country.”\n\nTh
 e opening of the exhibition at the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center will coinci
 de with the beginning of the Regional Taiko Gathering\, hosted by Portland
  Taiko. The Portland presentation of Big Drum is made possible\, in part\,
  by the support of George and Nobuko Azumano\, Dr. Toshio Inahara\, the Na
 ito Corporation\, and Kelly and Melissa Saito. The Oregon Nikkei Legacy Ce
 nter\, located at 121 NW Second Avenue in Portland\, is a Japanese America
 n museum and center that preserves and shares the history and culture of J
 apanese Americans in Oregon. Exhibition hours are Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m.
  to 3 p.m. and Sunday 12 noon to 3 p.m. The show is free to members of the
  Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center and the National Museum.\n\n"The Japanese Ame
 rican National Museum is honored to have its landmark exhibition\, <em>Big
  Drum: Taiko in the United States</em>\, installed at the Oregon Nikkei Le
 gacy Center in Portland\,” explained Akemi Kikumura-Yano\, Vice Presiden
 t of Programs for the National Museum. “The playing of taiko is an integ
 ral part of Japanese American culture and history in the post-war and it i
 s important that there is a greater understanding that this popular art fo
 rm grew directly out of our own Nikkei communities in the United States. T
 he Pacific Northwest was a part of that development. The National Museum i
 s delighted to collaborate with fine regional institutions like the Oregon
  Nikkei Legacy Center to share these fascinating stories.”\n\nFor more i
 nformation on the exhibition\, contact the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center at 
 (503) 224-1458 or visit <a href="http://www.oregonnikkei.org">www.oregonni
 kkei.org</a>\, or the Japanese American National Museum at (213) 625-0414 
 or visit <a href="http://www.janm.org">www.janm.org</a>.\n\n--30--\n
DTSTAMP:20240418T102944Z
SUMMARY:'Big Drum: Taiko in the United States' to open at Oregon Nikkei Leg
 acy Center June 16
URL:/en/events/2006/06/16/big-drum-taiko-in-the-united-states-to-open-at-or
 e/
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