COMMUNITY WORKS

Community Works West (CW/W) seeks to provide disenfranchised populations in the San Francisco Bay Area with opportunities to build community and give voice to their experiences.

Home

Jail Arts Programs

Youth Arts Programs

Events

Contact Us

PUBLIC EVENT AND EXHIBITION

If They Came For Me Today: The Japanese American Internment Project

Japanese American Internment Project is part of Community Works' Making a Difference projects. These projects focus on different historical periods during which changes in society have been achieved and bring “local heroes” into the classroom. Each project supports the California Academic Content standards for English, History, and Social Sciences and/or the Visual and Performing Arts standards.

An important aspect of these projects is the creation of public art with professional photographs, participants writing along with the inspiring words and images generated by the honored leaders. These exhibits tell the stories of people who are making a difference in our communities.

The large-scale Japanese American Internment Project traveling exhibition honors 14 survivors of the Japanese American internment camps during WWII and Japanese American artists whose work has been influenced by the internment experience. The project is based on a series of interviews and creative writing workshops with 11th graders at George Washington High School in San Francisco and has been expanded to include the creative talent of students from CW/W's ROOTS program at Balboa High School and Horrace Mann Middle School in San Francisco.

The Japanese American Internment Project honors Dianne Fukami, Philip Kan Gotanda, Sato Hashizume, Chizu Iiyama, Ernie Iiyama, Mary Masamitsu, Sox Kitashima, Ginger Masuoka, Janice Mirikitani, Esther Oda, Ruth Okimoto, Emiko Omori, Toru Saito, Morgan Yamanaka, and Geroge Yoshida.

Teachers: Contact us to schedule a tour of the exhibit for your class!

Current Exhibits:

January 13, 2007 - March 18, 2007 at the San Francisco Public Library's Skylight Gallery, 6th Floor of 100 Larkin Street.

Upcoming Events:

The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film and Television

Sunday, March 11, 2007, 1-3 pm at the Koret Auditorium (lower level), San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin at Grove).

From silent film star Sessue Hayakawa to Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle, The Slanted Screen explores portrayals of Asian men in American cinema, chronicling the experiences of actors who struggled against ethnic stereotyping and limiting roles. A discussion with writer, director and producer Jeff Adachi follows the film.

After the War: A discussion with Philip Kan Gotanda

Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 6:30-7:30 pm at the Koret Auditorium (lower level), San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin at Grove).

Playwright Philip Kan Gotanda discusses his new American Conservatory Theater world premiere, After the War. During the internment of Japanese Americans, San Francisco's bustling Japantown suddenly became an urban ghost town. But what happened when the Japanese Americans came back? Set in 1948, After the War looks at the rebuilding of a community shattered by the effects of war.