Aki’s Market Extended Through February 11, 2024

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) has extended the exhibition, Glenn Kaino: Aki’s Market, through Sunday, February 11, 2024. 

Aki’s Market is inspired by Akira and Sachiye Shiraishi’s small neighborhood market (1957–1970) in East Los Angeles. Created by artist Glenn Akira Kaino (Akira’s grandson and namesake), the exhibition explores the transgenerational trauma from the World War II Japanese American incarceration experience through the stories of Kaino, his family, and the community. Through a virtual reality recreation of the store and an installation of related works, Aki’s Market is an exhibition about collective memory where the archival bleeds into the imaginary and where the most advanced technology serves the most personal past.

On Saturday, January 20, 2024, JANM will celebrate the exhibition’s final weeks with a public program that includes hand casting workshops, conversations with the artist and his family, and a special pop-up skatepark. Please note that although the hand casting workshops are currently sold out, unclaimed reservations will be released to standby patrons at the start of each workshop hour. From 2 p.m.–3:30 p.m. visitors can join Kaino in conversation with his family, who were integral to the creation of the exhibition and the remembrance of Aki’s market. Kaino will discuss developing the virtual reality experience for Aki’s Market and honoring family stories with Anne Kaino, Kim Shiraishi, and Lucy Lam. The afternoon will also include performances from Chris Kaino, Sadie Kaino, and Stella Kaino.

From 11 a.m.–5 p.m. visitors can participate in a pop-up skatepark on JANM’s plaza to celebrate the special edition skateboard deck designed by Kaino in collaboration with The Berrics. Combining Kaino’s childhood love for skateboarding with the influential imagery of Katsuhiro Otomo’s animated film Akira, this one-of-a-kind deck similarly combines the artist’s past experience with the present and future, as explored in Aki’s Market.

The closing celebration is free with pre-registration by January 19, 2024; walk-in tickets will be regular general admission pricing ($16 for adults, $9 for students, seniors, and youth ages 6-19, members: free).

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a center for civil rights, ensuring that the hard-fought lessons of the World War II incarceration are not forgotten. A Smithsonian Affiliate and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories. JANM is a center for the arts as well as history. It provides a voice for Japanese Americans and a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over 100 exhibitions onsite while traveling 40 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday–Sunday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and on Thursday from 12 p.m.–8 p.m. JANM is free every third Thursday of the month. On all other Thursdays, JANM is free from 5 p.m.–8 p.m. For more information, visit janm.org or follow us on social media @jamuseum.