JANM Announces the Recent Accolades of Its Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) is pleased to announce the recent award and accomplishments of its Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center (MAC). MAC’s short documentary film, Benkyodo: The Last Manju Shop in J-Town, won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Short at the Seattle Asian American Film Festival and was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the Disorient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon. In addition, JANM congratulates MAC Director Tadashi Nakamura for receiving the Rockwood Documentary Leadership Fellowship, which convenes film and digital storytelling leaders to expand their network and build strong partnerships. He is also one of three mentors for the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Fellowship that supports and develops Asian American documentary filmmakers by pairing fellows with accomplished professionals.

“As the Director of MAC, Tad Nakamura has leveraged his experience and expertise to set a vision for MAC as the producer of important films that uplift the Asian American experience and also as an indispensable incubator to nurture the talent of upcoming filmmakers. We are delighted that he has been selected as a Rockwood Documentary Leadership Fellows  and as a mentor for the CAAM Fellowship. Both of these validate his craft and expertise as well as his commitment to social justice which threads through all his work,” said Ann Burroughs, President and CEO of JANM.

“The Rockwood Documentary Leadership Fellowship is a great opportunity for me to continue my alignment of social justice work with media arts. I am looking forward to honing my craft amongst my peers and also mentoring the next generation of Asian American filmmakers during the CAAM Fellowship,” said Nakamura.

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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.