In 1965, Ruth Asawa's friend and teacher, Josef Albers, recommended her for a fellowship at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop. Based in Los Angeles at the time, the Workshop, funded by the Ford Foundation, was the most recognized printmaking workshop in the country. Join June Wayne, artist and co-founder of the Workshop, and Ernest de Soto, artist and one of Asawa's printers at Tamarind, as they share their fond memories of Asawa's work with Tamarind lithographers. Tobey Moss (Tobey Moss Gallery, West Hollywood) also joins Wayne in conversation and presents some of Asawa's most remarkable works on paper. Free with Museum admission. Reservations recommended.

Filled with stunning music performed by stellar traditional Japanese and jazz musicians, the piece explores a fascinating and seldom told chapter of Los Angeles's history. While Japanese Americans were incarcerated, newly arrived African Americans from the South settled in Little Tokyo, where they remained until the war's end. The National Museum will co-present the piece in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center. The concert is free, but reservations are required and can only be made by contacting the Getty Center after April 19. For information and reservations, visit www.getty.edu or call 310.440.7300.

This presentation is made possible, in part, by grants from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.

The National Museum is proud to be the host venue for the inaugural Asian Pacific American Book Festival. The day celebrates the importance of sharing the vitality, challenges, and success of Asian Americans through the written word. Organized and presented by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, this premiere event will feature literary luminaries and authors such as Newbery Award winner Cynthia Kadohata, David Mas Masumoto, Naomi Hirahara, John Hamamura, Rick Noguchi, Giant Robot co-editors Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong, Nina Revoyr, Dan Kwong, Linda Furiya, and Lela Lee author of Angry Little Girls. Special children's programming will be held from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Other activities include writing performances, workshops and publishing seminars. Contact apabookfest@apalc.org for more information.

You can purchase books by many of these authors at the Museum Store Online.

A panel of experts discuss the historical, political, religious, and legal implications of the debate on equal marriage rights for lesbians and gays. Presenters include Reverend Mark Nakagawa, senior minister of Centenary United Methodist Church in Little Tokyo, attorney Karin Wang of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and author/activist Helen Zia, who in 2005 married her long-time partner in San Francisco. Moderated by Marshall Wong, co-chair of the coalition, API Equality--LA. Welcoming remarks by George Takei*, Chair Emeritus of the National Museum Board of Trustees. Reception to follow. More information at www.gapsn.org/wedotoo.pdf

This program is co-sponsored by APAIT, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, API Equality-LA, APAs for Progress, API P-FLAG, API Pride Council, and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.

*Appearance subject to cancellation based on professional obligations.

In conjunction with Wack! Art and the Feminist Revolution at the Geffen Contemporary, Museum of Contemporary Art

Ruth Asawa was probably unaware that she was flouting an artistic tradition that considered sculpture as a primarily masculine enterprise. Instead of creating pedestaled works of stone or bronze, Asawa selected wire as the material to create her most memorable works, which she then hung from the ceiling as if suspended in mid-air. Art Historian Laura Meyer, assistant professor, Department of Art & Design at California State University, Fresno, talks with artists Anna Sew Hoy, Elizabeth Turk, and Yuriko Yamaguchi about the gendering of sculpture to challenge notions that associate art with masculinity and craft with femininity. Reservations recommended.

A Workshop with Aiko Cuneo

"How did she do that," is often the first reaction to Ruth Asawa's wire sculptures. Wonder no more because during this workshop, Aiko Cuneo demonstrates the basic technique her mother used to create her remarkable wire sculpture forms. Space is limited and reservations highly recommended to 213.625.0414. Workshops are from 2-3 pm and 3-4 pm. $5 Museum members, $8 non-members includes Museum admission and materials.

Relive history and learn about present-day Little Tokyo with National Museum docents on this historic walking tour. $8 for National Museum members and $13 for non-members, includes Museum admission. Reservations along with comfortable walking shoes and clothes are recommended. Weather permitting.

One of the features of the National Museum's DiscoverNikkei.org Web site is the Nikkei Album--an exciting and versatile online tool that allows Nikkei and others from around the world to share their personal family stories, community histories, lesson plans, and much more through photos, text, audio, and video.

Project staff presents a workshop on how to browse and contribute to Nikkei Album. Free with National Museum admission. Reservations are required. Maximum 30 attendees. For more information and to RSVP, e-mail editor@DiscoverNikkei.org.

Organized by the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, this exhibition of more than fifty sculptures and works on paper recognizes one of the most important women artists of the century.

Reflect upon nature's beauty by learning to draw exquisite cranes with a brush. $8 for National Museum members and $13 for non-members, includes supplies and Museum admission. Reservations recommended.