This exhibition reveals a broader picture of the American experience through artworks and life stories of three Japanese American women from the pre–World War II generation, seen together for the first time. With more than eighty paintings and drawings by Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo, this exhibition spans eight decades and reveals both the range and depth of these artists’ oeuvres and connections that have not been explored previously.
Curated by Dr. ShiPu Wang, the Coats Family Chair in the Arts and Professor of Art History, Department of Global Arts, Media, and Writing Studies in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts at the University of California, Merced, and commissioner of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Pictures of Belonging has traveled to four venues across the US before its final stop at JANM.