OUTDOOR CONCERT AND "STAR TREK VI" MOVIE SCREENING SET FOR JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

Los Angeles, CA

Actor and activist George Takei will welcome attendees to an outdoor screening of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in which he stars as Captain Hikaru Sulu, commander of the USS Excelsior, at the Japanese American National Museum on Thursday, July 27, 2017. The movie will be preceded by a short concert performance by Tim Russ Crew, a pop-rock band fronted by fellow Star Trek actor Tim Russ. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Presented in conjunction with JANM’s current exhibition, New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) is the last film that features the entire main cast of the original television series. The plot revolves around an environmental disaster—the destruction of Praxis, a Klingon moon—and the resulting call for peace between the Empire and Starfleet from the leader of the Klingons, Chancellor Gorkon. The film was directed by Nicholas Meyer and is considered to be an allegory about the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. The explosion of Praxis is a reference to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster of 1986.

Admission to the museum on the day of the concert and screening will be free from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. (with last admissions at 7:30 p.m.)

The New Frontiers exhibition offers a selection of items from the George & Brad Takei Collection, a treasure trove of materials donated to JANM in September 2016. Included are photographs, correspondence, scripts, campaign materials from his 1973 Los Angeles City Council bid, and one-of-a-kind artworks made by his legions of fans. Of special note are a sculpture made by Takei’s father while the family was incarcerated during World War II at the concentration camp in Rohwer, Arkansas; the Olympic torch he carried in the lead-up to the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles; photos of the wedding of George and Brad Takei; and the key to the city of Roanoke, Virginia. Takei traveled to Roanoke in 2016 to meet with its Mayor, David Bowers, after Bowers cited the use of Japanese American concentration camps to justify suspending the relocation of Syrian refugees to the city.

In addition, the JANM Store offers several Takei-related products, many exclusive to JANM. They include a 24-page comic book titled Excelsior: The Many Lives of George Takei, in which Takei himself takes a look back through his colorful and impactful personal journey; a mug featuring the campaign poster from Takei’s 1973 bid for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council; and a vegan-friendly wallet featuring a vintage-look collage of Takei images. A number of books and DVDs are also available.

NOW ON VIEW AT JANM:

Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066
Through August 13, 2017
Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066, commemorates the 75th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066, which led to the tragic and unlawful incarceration of 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Instructions to All Persons is intended to engage visitors in critical discussions of the Japanese American incarceration experience and its continuing relevance today. It aims to examine the social impact of language and encourage viewers to contemplate the lessons of the past, as well as to compare World War II experiences with current events.

New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei
Through August 20, 2017
New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei explores the life and career of pioneering actor, activist, and social media icon George Takei. By examining Takei’s diverse experiences and achievements, this entertaining exhibition creates a portrait of a unique individual while offering an innovative means of engaging with the social history 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 $10 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.