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PROJECT OVERVIEW
Why
did the Japanese American National Museum initiate this project?
The Japanese American National Museum has been working to become a new
kind of museum—one that actively involves the people and communities
it serves as equal partners. From its inception the National Museum has
been, and continues to be community-based—conceived of, strongly
supported by, and deeply connected to the Japanese American community.
The Boyle Heights Project is one facet of the National Museum's efforts
and extends across disciplinary, generational, ethnic, and religious lines.
The International Institute of Los Angeles, The Jewish Historical Society of Southern California, Self-Help Graphics, Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School and an advisory group of scholars, community experts, and the Japanese American National Museum are partners in this interdisciplinary initiative that encompasses new research, an exhibition, and an extensive series of public programs.
Project Vision Statement
The
entire Boyle Heights Project creates opportunities for people of diverse
ethnic and generational backgrounds to learn about one another's experiences
and histories, recognize how these converge or diverge, and consider their
lives in contexts that extend beyond their immediate neighborhood, ethnic
or social groups. The hope is that such learning processes and exchanges
will provide ideas and insights for better understanding the present and
the changes that affect all communities. By understanding and discussing
the processes of neighborhood change and continuity—the causes and
consequences on people's everyday lives—we can thoughtfully contextualize
and therefore more meaningfully address the neighborhood's current conditions
and problems.
A central part of this initiative is the development of sustainable partnerships. The Japanese American National Museum hopes that the efforts started in the Boyle Heights Project will continue as part of the activities of all the partnering organizations. Above all, we hope that the partnership experience will promote lasting intercultural relations and linkages between participating organizations and communities. We expect that by working together, the partners will reinforce each other's involvement in Boyle Heights and that the expertise and information shared will inform how each develops future programs and projects.
Project Goals
- Promote collaborations and intercultural exchanges amongst organizations, scholars, and community members;
- Document, interpret, and share the history of the diverse communities of Boyle Heights through the voices and perspectives of those who live/d there;
- Engage and challenge individuals and organizations to participate in civic dialogue that connects the stories of past and present neighborhood residents, as well as those of people from different ethnic/racial backgrounds.
Project Components
- Community outreach and collaboration through: oral history interviews, presentations and forums in the community, high school research project, neighborhood programs, and artifact and photograph collection activities.
- Cultural history exhibition, Boyle Heights: The Power of Place at the Japanese American National Museum (September 8, 2002 - February 23, 2003)
- Contemporary art exhibition About, By, From: Boyle Heights—Expressions, Impressions and Memories of a historic neighborhood in East Los Angeles at Self-Help Graphics & Art (September 8 - October 13, 2002)
- Public program series