JANM’S NOVEMBER FREE FAMILY DAY CELEBRATES THE DIVERSITY OF LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles, CA—The Japanese American National Museum will celebrate the diverse mix of cultures that make up Los Angeles with a JANM Free Family Day on November 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the museum and its “We Love LA” Family Day activities—including crafts, story time, a dance workshop, and a musical performance—is free and all ages are welcome.

“We Love LA” is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Transpacific Borderlands: The Art of Japanese Diaspora in Lima, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and São Paulo, currently on view as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a Getty-led initiative exploring Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. The presenting sponsor of PST: LA/LA is Bank of America. Three of the craft activities are directly inspired by artworks by Erica Kamanishi, Yuriko Rojas Moriyama, Shizu Saldamando, and Eduardo Tokeshi in Transpacific Borderlands. In addition, one of the exhibiting artists, Ichiro Irie, will lead a mixed media workshop four times over the course of the day.

The full schedule of activities for November 11 follows.

All Day Activities:

Create a cherry blossom mobile to hang in your home, inspired by Prunusplastus, Erica Kamanishi’s stunning homage to Japan’s famous cherry blossom season.

Take a look at Shizu Saldamando’s drawings of her friends’ lunchboxes, then decorate a box that reflects your own style.

Learn to fold an origami shirt and transform it into a jersey for your favorite Los Angeles sports team.

Write a note of appreciation to a veteran, which JANM will deliver to the nearby VA Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center.

Artists Eduardo Tokeshi and Yuriko Rojas Moriyama use flags in their work as a commentary on identity. Design a flag that represents your identity while learning more about the flag of the City of Los Angeles.

Scheduled Activities:

11 a.m.–1 p.m.: Make healthy fusion lettuce wraps with Lisa Fontanesi of Kidding Around the Kitchen. (While supplies last.)

11:15 a.m., 12:30 p.m.: Listen to traditional tales from Latin America told in a dynamic mix of English and Spanish by Olga Loya. (Each story time lasts 20–25 minutes.)

11:30 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m., and 1:30 p.m.: Exhibiting artist Ichiro Irie along with collaborator Aska Irie will lead a 2D mixed-media workshop in which participants will create their own collage and tempera painting. Limit 25 participants per session; first come, first served.

2 p.m.–3 p.m.: Multilingual urban Latin dance theater company CONTRA-TIEMPO will lead one of its popular Sabor Sessions. Participants will learn Afro-Latin social dance forms such as salsa suelta and Cuban comparsa. No dance experience needed.

3:30 p.m.–4 p.m.: The day will come to a lyrical close with a mariachi jam session from Japanese singer Roger Del Norte; Downey, Calif. native Lupita Infante; and the group MEXICAPAN.

“We Love LA” is supported by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

For updates, visit janm.org/familydays2017.

NOW ON VIEW AT JANM:

Transpacific Borderlands: The Art of Japanese Diaspora in Lima, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and São Paulo
Through February 25, 2018
Transpacific Borderlands: The Art of Japanese Diaspora in Lima, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and São Paulo examines the experiences of artists of Japanese ancestry born, raised, or living in either Latin America or predominantly Latin American neighborhoods of Southern California. By looking at the work of Japanese Latin American artists, the exhibition shows how ethnic communities, racial mixing, and the concepts of homeland and cosmopolitanism inform the creativity and aesthetics of this hybrid culture. Transpacific Borderlands is part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a Getty-led initiative exploring Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles, and is made possible through grants from the Getty Foundation. The presenting sponsor of PST: LA/LA is Bank of America.

Common Ground: The Heart of Community
Ongoing
Incorporating hundreds of objects, documents, and photographs collected by JANM, this exhibition chronicles 130 years of Japanese American history, from the early days of the Issei pioneers through the World War II incarceration to the present.

About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, the Japanese American National Museum 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 hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories and strives to provide a voice for Japanese Americans as well as a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public, JANM has presented over 70 exhibitions onsite and traveled 17 of its exhibitions to locations around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America.

JANM is located at 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles. Museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. General admission is $12 adults, $6 students and seniors, free for members and children under age five. Admission is free to everyone on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and every third Thursday of the month from noon to 8 p.m. General admission prices and free admission times may not apply to specially ticketed exhibitions. Closed Monday, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. For more information visit janm.org or call 213.625.0414.

About Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA

Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA is a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. Supported by grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA takes place from September 2017 through January 2018 at more than 70 cultural institutions across Southern California, from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, and from San Diego to Santa Barbara. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.