Photo by Tina June
Closing celebration to be held Sunday, Nov. 17, in front of Azay Restaurant.
Sustainable Little Tokyo (SLT) is pleased to present the culminating event of its “Windows of Little Bronze Tokyo” project, which has commissioned five local artists and brought together community members from Little Tokyo and Skid Row to learn about the historic era of Bronzeville and deepen relationships among people in the two neighborhoods and broader Asian American and Black communities.
The event will be held Sunday, Nov. 17, from 3 to 5 p.m. in front of Azay Restaurant, 226 First St., and is free and open to the public.
The event will showcase visual artwork by Carey Westbrook and Miki Yokoyama installed at Azay; invite participation in pop-up art-making workshops facilitated by Ayumi Chisolm and Carey Westbrook and community interviews by documentarian and storyteller Bobby Buck; and feature a performance by Wayne Hoggatt in collaboration with jazz musicians and Japanese taiko and West African drummers.
“Windows of Little Bronze Tokyo” is inspired by the Bronzeville era of the neighborhood during World War II when Japanese Americans were forcibly removed and incarcerated, and African Americans facing racist restrictions in other parts of Los Angeles moved into the neighborhood and infused it with jazz and other forms of culture; and the brief period of time following the war as Japanese Americans began moving back and lived in an integrated, multiracial community.
The communities have a shared history of displacement and discrimination, as well as perseverance and power, and a shared hope for more solidarity to continue to be built in years ahead.
“Windows of Little Bronze Tokyo” builds upon the past two iterations of SLT’s successful “Windows” exhibition series. In past cycles, artists created two-dimensional artwork that was printed as posters on storefronts throughout Little Tokyo. In this cycle, organizers chose to encourage artwork spanning a wide range of mediums, including live performance, film, music, and workshops that engage the public.
As part of the project, SLT convened a larger “Community Orientation” in the spring of 2024 involving nearly 50 artists and community members, who spent a full day learning about the shared history of the neighborhoods and building relationships with each other.
From there, artists were invited to submit proposals, which were reviewed by a committee of community advisors who helped to select the five commissioned artists. Brief descriptions of each of the artists’ projects are attached below.
For more information, visit http://sustainablelittletokyo.org/projects/windows or bit.ly/sltwindows2024.
SLT is a creative, cross-sector coalition and movement that works together to sustain the culture, small business economy, and environment of Little Tokyo. It is convened by four organizations: Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Little Tokyo Service Center, Little Tokyo Community Council and Japanese American National Museum.
SLT was founded in 2013 when community organizations and volunteers convened neighborhood stakeholders to create a Community Vision, a neighborhood-generated framework dedicated to environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability.
Artist Project Description
Ayumi Chisolm, “Hope Heals the Heart of the City.” This work depicts five women representing Tongva/Indigenous, African American, Mexicana, Japanese/Asian, and white/European, all with their hands nurturing a heart in a basket. The heart alludes to drums found throughout all cultures; the basket also represents the womb. The arrows underneath are the ripples of influence vibrating from this heartbeat drum circle to resonate through the city. Hope heals, and we all need to take part in the process; together we inspire hope in each other.
Painted on location and on view in the outdoor courtyard at LACAN (Los Angeles Community Action Network), 838 E. 6th St., Los Angeles.
Bobby Buck, “The Bobby Buck Show: Windows of Little Bronze Tokyo.” This project included a live event featuring red carpet interviews and a panel discussion with diverse community members speaking about the history of Bronzeville, and connections between the Skid Row and Little Tokyo neighborhoods, recorded and edited for public viewing on http://BobbyBuck.TV.
Carey Westbrook, “Little Bronze Tokyo Dreamer.” Also known as “Carey Westbrook’s Kawaii Comics Kablam,” this is a multimedia homage to Black/Asian solidarity, based on the artist’s real-life experiences. He invites us to join an epic artistic odyssey through Bronzeville Chicago, Bronzeville DTLA, Skid Row, Little Tokyo, past, present, and future in a short film, workshop, original artwork and zine.
Photo by Tina June
Miki Yokoyama, “Windows of Little Bronze Tokyo.” This is a canvas mural and map of Little Tokyo and Skid Row, inspired by the artist’s research and conversations with people in both neighborhoods. It shows buildings and people from the past and present and the path that both communities have taken. “Learning about the connected histories of these communities was enlightening and a joy,” Yokoyama said. “I wanted to express that in this painting.”
Wayne Hoggatt, “Languages of the Drum: The Voices of Culture.” This project bridges Little Tokyo Japanese culture to African American culture through drums and music, including a fusion performance of a new composition by Hoggatt integrating jazz and taiko rhythms, and featuring guest artists representing diverse traditions. At the core, his music and films are all about uplifting humanity and the human spirit in positive ways.