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George Takei's Pursuit of 'Infinite Diversity' CNN Blog, January 11, 2012

Editor's note: George Takei, best known for his role as Mr. Sulu in "Star Trek," was gracious enough to speak with Geek Out for nearly an hour and a half. Last week, we talked about why "Star Trek" fans are thankful for Takei. This time, Takei gets personal about his acting and activism.

Behind George Takei’s great laugh, warm smile and enticing sense of humor is a childhood filled with memories of imprisonment.

JANM Exhibit Looks at the Contributions of Post-War Japanese American Artists Downtown News, November 18, 2011

By Richard Guzman

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - A pristine 1963 Chevy Stingray Corvette sits on the first floor of the Japanese American National Museum. With its silver body and red interior, it acts like a magnet for museum visitors such as 28-year-old Joshua Holloway, who on a recent weekday afternoon stared into the window at the classic American sports car.

"It’s beautiful. It’s definitely a work of art," said the South Gate resident.

While its function is as a machine, Holloway is not the only one who thinks of the vehicle in artistic terms. That comes into play in the recently opened JANM exhibit Drawing the Line: Japanese American Art, Design & Activism in Post-War Los Angeles.

The Corvette is one of hundreds of items on display at the museum through Feb. 19. The exhibit looks at the influence that Japanese American artists, whose sense of culture and identity was influenced by the post-World War II period from 1945 to 1980, have had on the Los Angeles art scene.

PST, A to Z: 'Drawing the Line' at JANM Los Angeles Times Culture Monster, November 10, 2011

By Sharon Mizota

The wall text at the beginning of "Drawing the Line: Japanese American Art, Design & Activism in Post-War Los Angeles" at the Japanese American National Museum describes how California’s reputation as the land of endless possibility and optimism was experienced a bit differently by Japanese Americans returning from World War II internment camps. Most of the works by the show’s 10 featured artists, designers, and performers reflect a certain dissatisfaction with mainstream modes of representation and attempt to counter them with images of their own, both so-called “positive” ones and others that are more ambivalent and questioning.

For a show with only 10 artists, "Drawing the Line" covers a lot of ground, from Matsumi Kanemitsu’s blend of Japanese brush painting techniques, Abstract Expressionist flourishes and Pop art content, to Qris Yamashita’s whimsical repurposing of Japanese woodblock print motifs in posters and T-shirts for community events, to artifacts from the career of dancer turned activist and folksinger Nobuko Miyamoto.

Little Tokyo C-SPAN, November 5, 2011

C-SPAN interviews Japanese American National Museum volunteer Bill Shishima and follows him on a tour of historic Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. In a separate video, Bill also provides a short tour of part of the Museum's core exhibition, "Common Ground: The Heart of Community".

Japanese American National Museum searching for new director Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2011

The Japanese American National Museum is going through its second leadership transition since 2008, this one promising to end with the ascension of a new generation at the Little Tokyo institution. Both its past directors had been on board since before it opened in 1992. Museum officials announced this week that Akemi Kikumura Yano has stepped down as executive director after nearly three years, and that two of her deputies will serve as interim co-executive directors while a national search goes forward to find a new leader.

First Annual Los Angeles International Tea Festival Pon Fa Cha, August 15, 2011

Having a very mixed feeling after the First Los Angeles International Tea Festival... This tea event is a great success for its First year. The reason this event is successful, per my personal observation:

San Diego Comic Con Interview with Stan Sakai YouTube, August 2, 2011

Stan Sakai, creator of Usagi Yojimbo, is interviewed at the 2011 Comic Con in San Diego.

The Bunny Pages The Daily, August 3, 2011

Meet Miyamoto Usagi--rabbit, samurai, comic hero--and his creator.

Journalists Ponder Past, Future of Nikkei Newspapers Rafu Shimpo, April 28, 2011

There once was a time when, according to Japanese American National Museum CEO and President Akemi Kikumura Yano, if you got three Issei together, they’d start a newspaper.

Yano’s quip was made Saturday, April 2 at the JANM and Discover Nikkei-sponsored conference and panel discussion titled "From Newsprint to New Media: The Evolving Role of Nikkei Newspapers," held at JAMN’s National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Little Tokyo.

How Ethnic Museums Came About New York Times, April 26, 2011

America has a vibrant mix of art, natural history and history museums, and at least a dozen other categories recognized by the sector’s professional organization, the American Association of Museums.

One of the types to emerge over the past 40 years is the culturally specific museum. These range from the Museum of the American Indian in New York and Washington and the Arab American National Museum in Michigan to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

'Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo" Part of Little Tokyo Design Week Little Tokyo Design Week, April 27, 2011

The Big 3 Cultural Institutions located in Little Tokyo (JANM, MOCA, and JACCC) will feature open houses and ancillary programming around their respective exhibits on view at that time. A short description each exhibition is presented below.

George Takei on the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: Gaman YouTube, March 15, 2011

George Takei comments on the disastrous earthquakes and tsunami that have devastated Japan.

2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Services Institute of Museum and Library Services, November 16, 2010

"Congratulations to the winners of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Each of you is making your community a better place for learning, working, and living." --First Lady Michelle Obama

JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM RECEIVES IMLS' NATIONAL MEDAL Institute of Museum and Library Services, December 22, 2010

The Japanese American National Museum was one of 10 recipients for the 2010 National Medal, presented by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It is the highest honor bestowed on a museum in the United States. To learn more, go to this pdf to see the profiles of the medal recipients.

Threads of 'American Tapestry' Displayed at JANM Rafu Shimpo, November 22, 2010

The Japanese American National Museum unveiled a new exhibition, "American Tapestry: 25 Stories from the Collection" on Nov. 13 as part of the celebration of its 25th anniversary.

The 25 items were chosen from more than 80,000 artifacts, documents, photographs, oral histories and works of art currently in the museum’s collection.

Clement Hanami, JANM director of programs and curator of the exhibition, said that each object has a link to Facebook and other websites so that visitors with iPhones or PDAs can instantly access further information. "Technology changes things. It also changes how people, especially young people, engage with information … We’re part of a network of a lot of information sources."

L.A.'s Hidden Hot Spots Detour Destinations, November 2, 2010

Another "find" of ours is the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. I like it because it’s small enough to feel intimate and large enough to contain significant and meaningful exhibits.

Japanese American National Museum Spotlights Clothing Los Angeles Story Blogspot, March 15, 2010

On Saturday, CC and I drove downtown (or "down-a-town," as she calls it) to visit the Japanese American National Museum, which was offering free admission courtesy of Target's Free Family Days.

In addition to complimentary access to museum exhibits such as "Textured Lives: Japanese Immigrant Clothing from the Plantations of Hawai'i," there were all sorts of clothing-related activities for the kiddos, including sock-puppet making, . . . .

Oshogatsu Family Festival rings in the New Years Los Angeles Daily News, January 4, 2010

Hundreds descended on the Japanese American National Museum on Sunday for the Oshogatsu Family Festival - a celebration of the New Year and the biggest holiday in Japan.

Banging drums, folding origami and cooking traditional New Year's dishes, participants shared old customs and learned some new ones at the free event built around the Japanese custom of bringing family together for the holiday.

Engaging Diverse Audiences by Margaret Kadoyama Western Museum Assn. WEST MUSE, November 6, 2009

I was fortunate enough to attend the recent WMA conference in San Diego. The conference provided at least one significant outcome for me — the discovery of a new report on engaging diverse audiences from the Japanese American National Museum, published in August 2009.

I attended a session on programming for Latino audiences. The session, Museum Mission and Audience: Tips from Collaborations with Latino Communities, was moderated by Elizabeth Morin from Youth Arts and Education for the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.The presenters were Lisa Sasaki from the Japanese American National Museum, . . .

Best Museum Gift Shops Los Angeles Magazine, October 31, 2009

A rare museum shop that doesn’t take itself too seriously, the Japanese American National Museum Store is filled with playful items like Shiso Fine aprons, sushi-shaped candles, and wind-up dueling sumo wrestlers. . .