The power of artist-led collective remembering

A screenshot featuring six squares each showing an image of artists participating in YMP’s 2023 artist showcase commemorating Day of Remembrance. Clockwise from upper left: Patricia Wakida, Brynn Saito, TT Takemoto, traci kato-kiriyama, Kellee Matshushita-Tseng, and Nikiko Masumoto

Thank you for gathering with us last Friday (2/17/23) for Yonsei Memory Project's Day of Remembrance program, to hold our dear ones in remembrance and grief while exploring the roots of Executive Order 9066 and the reverberations of its effects 81 years later. 

We are profoundly grateful for the incredible support and are still basking in the main high points of Friday night's program: Kellee Matsushita-Tseng's offering of insight into land and culture loss and how literal seeds can nourish and teach us to return to the soil and be stronger; Miya Sommer’s thoughtful slides and research; the richly layered historic explorations of TT Takemoto's sensual and humorous multi-media art; and the deep conjuring and fire of traci kato-kiriyama's poetry.  We could not love and appreciate these artists any more than we do. Thank you again to Kellee, TT, and tkk for the breathtaking risks you take with your creative and community work, and for bringing us with you. And thank you to all who logged on, shared memories, and helped us co-create a tender, powerful space of remembrance.