Speaking Our Piece: A Legacy of Healing, Rebirth & Leadership

Discover how Smithsonian Affiliate museums are making connections around activism, expression and healing. Then join in a post-program discussion to reflect on those topics here in Greensboro.

Smithsonian Affiliations, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and two Affiliates—the Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, CA) and the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (Seattle, WA)—will present a discussion of examples of activism and finding joy after the destruction of trauma, resilience in response to oppression and ways this has been observed throughout history in Asian American communities.

Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s Adriel Luis will present and moderate a lively discussion with our panelists, Emily Anderson, Ph.D., Curator, Japanese American National Museum, and Jessica Rubenacker, Exhibit Director, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.  Emily Anderson will speak about the important role that religious institutions and individuals played in providing a sense of security and stability for Japanese Americans during World War II. Jessica Rubenacker present the Wing Luke Museum’s recent examples of community healing through art with the Chinatown-International Love Letters campaign, mural project collaboration with artist Moses Sun and more generally the Museum’s reopening to the public.

Register for the Smithsonian Affiliations program, 7 pm

Register for the Speaking Our Piece post-program discussion, at conclusion of the Affiliations program, around 8:15 pm

Image: Artists Jess X. Snow and Kayla Briët with a still from the short film AFTEREARTH at ‘Ae Kai: A Culture Lab on Convergence produced by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Honolulu, 2017. Photo by Tara Rock