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Honoring the history about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II provides an opportunity to understand the terrible injustices that took place. A new art exhibition called Sansei Granddaughters’ Journey: From Remembrance to Resistance is on display from Sunday, July 24 through Saturday, Sept. 3 at the AZ Gallery at the Shops at Tanforan, San Bruno, CA. Most significant is the fact that the AZ Gallery is on the land where the former Tanforan Racetrack and Tanforan temporary detention center stood.


Sansei Granddaughters’ Journey features the work of five noted third generation (sansei) Japanese American artists who have dedicated their wide-ranging art careers to honor the legacy of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. The participating artists are Shari Arai DeBoer, Ellen Bepp, Reiko Fujii, Kathy Fujii-Oka, and Na Omi Judy Shintani. On display are impressive works of art, including video, installation works, prints, paintings, and mixed media pieces.


Eighty years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which unjustly ordered the forcible removal of Japanese Americans from their homes and incarceration in American concentration camps. As descendants, the five artists share a unique vision that, through art, brings to life the dehumanizing conditions in which Japanese Americans were forced to live, including poor housing and food, a lack of privacy, and inadequate medical care.


“The injustice of our government incarcerating innocent men, women, and children based on greed, fear, and racial prejudice, resulting in the loss of life, homes, businesses, trust, and self-esteem, is deplorable,” says Reiko Fujii, a participating artist. “I am adamant about chronicling their stories so that they are a recorded part of American history and that these people’s experiences are not forgotten.”


A main feature of the exhibition will be the Sunday, Aug. 14th screening of the film Sansei Granddaughters’ Journey (2020, 27 minutes), which documents the five artists’ experiences on an annual pilgrimage in 2018 to the WWII Manzanar camp. This film was produced and directed by Shari Arai DeBoer, Ellen Bepp, Reiko Fujii, Kathy Fujii-Oka, and Na Omi Judy Shintani and includes archival photos from families and the Densho Encyclopedia. A facilitated discussion follows the film screening.