ARTISTS MARGARET CHULA, CATHY ERICKSON TO DISCUSS WORK INSPIRED BY WW II CAMPS

Artists Margaret Chula and Cathy Erickson will discuss their book, What Remains: Japanese Americans in Internment Camps, which features poetry by Chula and representations of quilts created by Erickson inspired by the lives of Nikkei falsely imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II, at the Japanese American National Museum on Saturday, September 11, beginning at 2 p.m.

The book is the result of a seven-year collaboration between Chula and Erickson. Chula wrote poetry, diaries and letters in the voices of people forced to live in domestic concentration camps by their own government because of their Japanese ancestry. Erickson designed her quilts based on the same source material, presenting personal stories through design, color and fabric. Both artists gained their inspiration through interviews with former inmates as well as through photographs by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange, visits to the original campsites, and autobiographies by Japanese Americans.

Their presentation will demonstrate how the two art forms work together to enhance and enrich the each other. A book signing and a light reception will follow the program.

Margaret Chula, an internationally known haiku poet, lived in Kyoto, Japan, for 12 years where she taught creative writing at Doshisha Women’s University. Her six collections of poetry include Grinding my ink, which received the Haiku Society of America’s Book Award. Cathy Erickson has been making traditional and art style quilts since 1996. In 2002 she started collaborating with Margaret Chula on quilts and poetry inspired by the Japanese American internment. Cathy has exhibited in art galleries, university galleries, museums, and at local, regional, and national quilt shows. For more information about Margaret Chula and to read poems from What Remains, visit www.margaretchula.com. For more information about Cathy Erickson or to see her quilts, visit www.cathyerickson.net/.

This program is free to National Museum members or with admission.