NEW EXHIBITION AT JANM EXPLORES REFUGEE EXPERIENCE THROUGH CARRIED OBJECTS

Los Angeles, CA—What We Carried: Fragments & Memories from Iraq & Syria, a traveling exhibition that shares poignant narratives from Iraqi and Syrian immigrants to the United States, will open at the Japanese American National Museum on Saturday, May 19, 2018. The exhibition’s theme echoes one found in discussions of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II, when those being forcibly removed were allowed to bring “only what they could carry.” What We Carried will be on view through August 5.

Since 2003, several million Iraqis and Syrians have fled their war-torn homes, with about 140,000 relocating to the United States. Most begin the journey with few belongings, making the personal artifacts that they are able to transport even more meaningful.

Renowned freelance photographer and author Jim Lommasson invited some of these refugees to share a personal item significant to their travels to America, such as a family snapshot, heirloom dish, or childhood toy. He photographed each artifact and then returned a 13" x 19" archival print to each participant so that they could write directly on the image to explain why they chose this item, above all others, to remind them of the lives they left behind. What We Carried features the images and the explanations; all texts are presented in both Arabic and English.

The carried objects and the intensely personal stories behind them combine to illustrate the common threads that bind all of humanity: love of family, friendship, and the places people call home. The exhibition demonstrates the resiliency of refugees from the Arab world and what it means to be displaced and build a new life in an unfamiliar place.

What We Carried is a traveling exhibition of the Arab American National Museum and an ongoing project. Since 2010, Lommasson has worked directly with refugee communities in Boston; Chicago; Dearborn, Mich.; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; and Los Angeles, among other locations. Since 2011, What We Carried has been exhibited in Boston; Seneca Falls, N.Y.; Berea, Ohio; Jacksonville, Fla.; Atlanta; Dearborn, Mich.; Chicago; Skokie, Ill.; Kimballton, Iowa; Houston; and Portland, Ore.

The exhibition was funded in part by The Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), the Oregon Arts Commission, and the Arab American National Museum.

For more information about What We Carried, visit janm.org/what-we-carried.

NOW ON VIEW AT JANM:

hapa.me – 15 years of the hapa project
Through October 28, 2018
Artist Kip Fulbeck continues his project, begun in 2001, of photographing persons who identify as “hapa”—of mixed Asian/Pacific Islander descent—as a means of promoting awareness and positive acceptance of multiracial identity. As a follow-up to kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa, his groundbreaking 2006 exhibition, hapa.me pairs the photographs and statements from that exhibition with contemporary portraits of the same individuals and newly written statements, showing not only their physical changes in the ensuing years, but also changes in their perspectives and outlooks on the world. In addition, hapa.me includes portraits of hundreds of new participants and an interactive section where, on select days, viewers can join the community by having their portrait taken and writing their own personal statement.

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 $12 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.