August 6, 2018—Arts Etc.

Visual Arts

The Seattle Art Fair returns with over 100 international, national and local galleries showcasing work by their artists. Nato Thompson is this year’s artistic director and he has focused his efforts on programs that look at the roots of this city’s identity from native perspectives to robotics. Of particular interest is C. Davida Ingram’s “Rootsystems and Ley Lines” that is a multi-media look at the 1999 WRO protests and their reverberations. Includes a who’s who of Seattle artists/activists such as D.K. Pan, Soya Jung and many others. At Century Link Field Event Center. There are also a number of satellite shows around town at the same time. Multi-media artist Paul Komada is in a massive group show of local artists entitled “1 Room” at Studio E. a golfcart shuttle away from the art fair. Also of interest is an event presented by Pacific Bonsai Museum in partnership with the Art Fair as part of their VIP Program. The event entitled “Spaces of Liminality: Enter the LAB” explores the intersection of bonsai, architecture, design, art and performance. Participants will witness the creation of a living sculpture and watch three renowned artists resequence traditional bonsai practices under the influence of a work of an iconic American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.  Saturday, August 4 at 2pm at the Chauncey L. and Johanna Griggs House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) in Lakewood, WA. Seating is limited and tickets may be purchased for this event at https://spacesofliminality.eventbrite.com/.  The art fair is open August 3 – 5, 2018. Opening night preview is August 2 from 6 – 9pm. August 3 from 11am – 8pm. August 4 from 11am – 7pm. August 5 from 11am – 6pm. 1000 Occidental Ave. S. 212-518-6912 or try seattleartfair.com or email [email protected].

Cut paper artist Lauren Iida recreates “Memory Net”, a 30-foot-long cut paper installation with contributions of small objects from the community. If you have something to donate or just want to see the work-in-progress, it is on view until August 11, 2018 with a closing ceremony on August 11 from 5 – 7pm. At The Vestibule at 6312  32nd Ave. NW Unit A in Seattle. Go to www.thevestibule.org for details.

“The Veil” is a new installation curated by Seattle artist/poet Sequoia Day O’Connell at Bridge Productions. It is an ode to liminal space with three artists investigating different aspects. Ko Kirk Yamahira looks at doing and undoing, Markel Uriu delves into growth and decay, Taylor Hanigosky measures time and impermanence and Charlie Crowell reflects on past and present. On view  through August 25, 2018. 6007 12^th Ave. S. in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. Open Saturdays from 12 – 7pm. Sharon@bridgedotproductions for details.

In the Phyllis Lamphere Gallery located on Level 2 of the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle you will find the Annual Korean American Artists Association of Washington State Member’s Show on view through Sept. 25, 2018. 705 Pike St. M – F. from 7am – 10pm. 206-694-5000 or go to www.wscc.com.

Attending Indian festivals influenced 1^st-generation Indian American artist Kamla Kakaria and her new installation done in sculpture, prints, and hundreds of white beeswax covered flowers. Part of UTSAV!, a 3-month celebration of Asian Indian arts and culture ongoing from July 17 – Sept. 12, 2018.  Reception for the artist is on Sat., August 11 from 5 – 8pm. The installation is up from August 7 – Oct. 1, 2018. Arteast Art Gallery at 95 Front Street North in Issaquah. 425-392-3191  or try www.arteast.org.

There is now a permanent photo exhibit dedicated to Donnie Chin in the Donnie Chin Community Room at Hirabayashi Place taken by his dear friend, Dean Wong. To see the exhibit, contact Leslie Morishita at 206-624-1802×19 or email [email protected].

Summer is a great time to hit the road. Why not Spokane? The Northwest Museum of Arts & culture has the following – “Sayaka Ganz: Reclaimed Creations” features the amazing work of eco-artist Sayaka Ganz who salvages the junk we throw away. Using plastic and metal, she creates graceful, dramatic sculptures of animals in motion. Recycled art never looked so good. On  view until August 26, 2018.  2316 W. First Ave. 509-456-3931 or go to northwestmuseum.org.

Naoko Morisawa was born in Tokyo but lives in Seattle. Her colorful woven-wood mosaics are known for their meticulous craftsmanship and intricate compositions. She has a show of new work at Frederick Homes and Company through August 5, 2018. 885 W. Georgia St. in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. 309 Occidental Ave. S. 206-682-0166 or email [email protected].

It will be interesting to see what effect the transitional shift from city life in Seattle to a “fix-it-up” house on bucolic Vashon Island will have on the work of abstract painter William Song when he presents his show of new works entitled “Light” set for August 2 – Sept. 29, 2018.Grounded in research about the capacity of color and light to stimulate changes in the body and mind, these lush abstractions done in luminous oils and cold beeswax invite the viewer in with their glow and energy. First Thursday Receptions with the artist on August 2 from 5 – 8pm and Sept 6, 2018 from 5 – 8pm. ArtXchange Gallery. 512 First Ave. S. 206-839-0377 or go to www.artxchange.org.

A  JCCCW Exhibition entitled “Genji Mihara: An Issei Pioneer” is up now and ongoing. Mihara was an Issei first-generation Japanese immigrant leader who helped to build Japanese culture and community in Seattle. Open M – F from 10am – 5pm. Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington is at 1414 S. Weller St. Free. For details, go jcccw.org.

“After Life (What Remains) is a multi-genre visual art and performance exhibition that stages a conversation between Asian Pacific American and indigenous artists around the following questions: What new strategies are needed to survive after environmental catastrophe and military intervention, by communities facing displacement and dispossession? How can speculation, humor, and fantasy fuel larger movement for social change around the Pacific Rim – around the region, the world and in the American heartland? Curated by Thea Quiray Tagle and featuring artists Alejandro T. Acierto, Machael Arcega, Leeroy New/Aliens of Manila, Super Futures Haunt Qollective and Rea Tajiri.  Remains on  view through July 21, 2018. Gallery hours are on Saturdays from 12 – 7pm.  At The Alice Gallery. 6007 – 12^th Ave. in Seattle. Go to [email protected].

“Select Works by Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani” chronicles the work of this artist who lived from 1920 – 2012 and whose life was the subject of an award-winning documentary film “The Cats of Mirikitani” by Linda Hattendorf. It is now on view through Sept. 16, 2018 at Emerson Street House at 1006 NE Emerson St. in Portland. The show was curated by artist Roger Shimomura and produced and originally shown at the Wing. 323-632-6638 or visit www.emersonstreethouse.com.

A non-profit, the Portland Chinatown History Foundation will open the new Portland Chinatown Museum to the public on June 7, 2018 with a feature exhibit of “Made in the USA: Portland’s Chinatown” by Seattle photographer Dean Wong, on view through Sept. 2, 2018. A new version of “Beyond the Gate: A Tale of Portland’s Historic Chinatowns”, an enormously popular national exhibit held at Oregon Historical Society two years ago will be permanently installed in late summer followed by a gala celebration. The museum hopes to stir up interest in preserving what’s left of the community as gentrification strips away vestiges of the original community. Before the official opening however, the Portland Chinatown Museum will premiere “A Tale of Two Ghettos”, a new multiple-site installation by Portland artist Horatio Law. 127 NW 3^rd Ave. 503-224-0008.

“Bench Mark” is a partnership for Youth exhibition developed by teens during a free workshop when they had to learn how to collaborate to design and produce a bench. Co-organized by Lynn Chou, Manager of Youth and School Programs and Negarra A. Kudomu, Manager of Public Programs. Features the work of Abdisemed Ali, Gebreyaus Wengeda, Eva Gugsa, Tegarius Kea, John Le, Kiet Nguyen, Ngoc Nguyen, Tam Nguyen, Nurham Nuru and Nhu-Phuong Tran. Teaching artists Laura Bartunek, John Hallock and Jim Nicholls provided 3-D modeling. Presented by Frye Art Museum and Associated Recreational Council Recreational Tech program at Yesler Community Center with the support from Olson Kundig.  On view until  Oct. 14, 2018. “Group Therapy” is a group show that  addresses themes of healing and self-care and comments on and/or adapts strategies  of alternative medicine, psychotherapy and wellness practices. Includes work by Maryam Jafri and Cindy Mochizuki. Public opening is Sept. 14, 2018 from 7:30 – 9:30pm. On view through  Jan. 6, 2019.   704 Terry Ave. 206-622-9250.

Asia Pacific Cultural Center has a show every month of a local Asian American artist every month in their gallery.4851 South Tacoma Way in Tacoma. 253-383-3900  or asiapacificculturalcenter.org.

Seattle Art Museum has the following – “Pure Amusements: Chinese Scholar Culture and Emulators”, an installation of Chinese works ranging from prints to sculpture and furnishings to ceramics. The focus is on objects created for, and enjoyed during the intentional practice of leisure. Ongoing.  “Noble Splendor: Art of Japanese Aristocrats” opens July 28, 2018 in the John McCone Gallery. “Pacific Currents” & “Billabong Dreams” are two adjacent installations that feature the theme of water from New Guinea to Puget Sound through Oct. 21, 2018. “Walkabout:The Art of Dorothy Napangardi” opens May 5, 2018 and is ongoing. Third Floor Galleries. This Aboriginal artist was born in the Tanami Desert of Australia. Her work is a spiritual map of walking with her family across ancestral land. “Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India” opens Oct. 18, 2018 and remains on view through Jan. 21, 2019. You can get advance tickets for this exhibition by going to visitsam.org/peacock starting August 29, 2018. 1300 First Ave.  206-654-3210  or try www.seattleartmuseum.org.

Davidson Galleries has the following –The etchings of Japanese printmaker Ryohei Tanaka are on view through Sept. 1, 2018. Opening First Thursday, August 2, 2018 from 6- 8pm.Tanaka’s prints of the Japanese countryside and traditional thatched houses are highly prized and echo back to an earlier era. Seattle print-maker Eunice Kim has a new series of prints that reflect the organic feel of dots lost in a serene landscape. Sept. 6 – 29, 2018. 313 Occidental Ave. S. 206-624-7684 or go to davidsongalleries.com.

STG presents “Re:definition-Celebrating 90 Years of Community, Culture and Space”, a group show in the lobby of the bar in the Paramount Theatre guest curated by Jean Alonzo Rodriguez, Tracy Rector and Tariqa Waters to help celebrate that cultural institution’s 90^th birthday. Included is work by Junko Yamamoto, Kenji Hamai Stoll and others. 911 Pine in downtown Seattle. 206-682-1919.

Lawrence Pitre’s  new work entitled “We Are One” reflects his interest in the multi-ethnic diversity of the Central District  even as it changes. Gallery 4Culture. Sept. 6 – 27. 101 Prefontaine Pl. 206-296-7580 or  4culture.org.

The work of Claire Sun is included in a three person show with Timea Tihanyi and Peter Gross at Linda Hodges Gallery Aug. 2 – Sept. 1, 2018. 316-1^st Ave. S. 206-624-3034.

Japanese hyperrealist illustrator Shohei Otomo has his work on display at Statix from August 2 – 30, 2018. 210 South Washington or  206-624-7948.

“TENACIOUS” is the title of a group show of artists that take on the theme of “feminine.” It includes the work of Lauren Iida and MalPina Chan amongst others. Aug. 3 – Oct. 3, 2018. Suzanne Zahr Gallery. 2441 – 76^th Ave. SE #160 on Mercer Island. 206-354-1567.

Pacific Bonsai Museum shakes up this Japanese tradition with LAB (Living Art of Bonsai), an experimental collaborative for bonsai innovation This project is a re-sequencing in the order of influence between the bonsai artist, ceramicist and stand maker. The project kicks off in 2018 and continues through 2020. A video trailer from a film about this new process can be viewed at http://www.bonsaimirai.com. For more information, go to http://www.pacificbonsaimuseum.org.

“Americans Interned: A Family’s Story of Social Justice” features artwork by Chris & Jan Hopkins that highlights personal stories of the effects of Executive Order#9066 which authorized the eviction of Japanese Americans from the West Coast during WWII. Exhibition on  view through Sept. 1, 2018. Schack Art Center at 2921 Hoyt Ave. in downtown Everett, WA. 425-259-5050 or go to schack.org. Admission is free. Open daily.

Portland Art Museum has the following – “Suzuki Haranobu and the Culture of Color” is a new exhibit that looks at Harunobu’s contributions to the culture of color in his clever and elegant prints. This exhibition incorporates the physical materials of these important prints and is a collaboration  between Portland State University Professor Tami Lasseter Clare, Curator Jeannie Kenmotsu, Ph.D and Museum Conservator Samatha Springer. Through Sept. 16, 2018.  1219 S.W. Park Ave. 503-226-2811 or try [email protected].

Internationally known ceramic artist and former UW Professor Patti Warashina has a show of new work set for the Mesa Contemporary Arts Center through August 5, 2018.  One East Main St. in Mesa, Arizona. 480-644-6560 or go to [email protected].

KOBO  at Higo at 604 South Jackson features many small arts & crafts/textile shows and activities inspired by Asia or work by Asian American artists. Rob Vetter shows “Northwest Landscape Painting” through August 26, 2018. Artist reception on first Thursday, August 2 from 5 – 7pm.  There is another branch of KOBO on Capitol Hill at 814 E. Roy St. 206-726-0704.

New and recent shows /activities at the Wing include the following – “Blast Off To Beyond” is the new KidPLACE exhibit which explores the field of aerospace and the Asian Pacific Americans that play a huge role in space exploration and technology. On view through  Jan. 6, 2019. “Lore Re-Imagined: Shadows of Our Ancestors” is curated by Chieko Phillips. It brings together three artists who make work that engages the cultural traditions of previous generations. Satpreet Kahlon uses the embroidery and textile techniques passed on by her mother and grandmother to create soft works with strong cultural subtexts. Alex Anderson uses his ceramic studies in China to probe the moral and physical decay behind seemingly flawless facades. Megumi Shauna Arai’s “Unnamed Lake” uses sashiko (Japanese hand-stiched embroidery) to reflect on the physical, mental and emotional applications of mending. Remains on view  through April 14, 2019. “Wham! Bam! Pow! – Cartoons, Turbans & Confronting Hate” opens May 4, 2018 and remains on view through Feb. 24, 2019. This is an exhibition of work  by New York-based cartoonist Vishavjit Singh who wields art and humor to fight intolerance and challenge stereotypes. “A Dragon Lives Here”, part 4 of the ongoing Bruce Lee exhibition series has just opened.  This concluding part hones in on Bruce Lee’s Seattle roots and how this region played a key role in shaping Lee and his groundbreaking career. A reminder  that Bruce Lee tours reopen on March 10, 2018. “Visions of Pasifika: Light from Another World” on view now through Nov. 11 2018 looks at Pacific Islander artists who incorporate tradition while looking towards the future. Includes work by Lilian Ongelungel, Kalel’okalani, Roquin-Jon Quichocho Siongco and Selena Velasco.    “What’s In Your Cup? – Community Brewed Culture” is a new exhibit honoring the beverages that have given life to communities – from farmers and families who nurture the raw materials to friends & kin who bond over shared drinks. Hear histories of commerce, colonization and survival. Share tales from a Japanese family who brewed sake from Fukushima to Seattle, the Seko’s who ran the beloved Bush Garden, Carmel Laurino who pioneered the value of Filipino coffee, Lydia Lin who cultivated  tea appreciation through her Seattle Best Tea and Koichi Kitazawa, a brew master at Starbucks. On view through  Sept. 16, 2018. 206-623-5124×127 or email [email protected] for details. “New Years All Year Round” shows how New Year is celebrated in Chinese, Khmer and Korean cultures. On view through  July 1, 2018. Toddler Story Time set for Thursdays at 11am always has events centered around a kid’s book and an art activity afterwards.   A new addition to The Wing’s daily Historic Hotel Tour is “APT 507” which is the story of Au Shee, one Chinese immigrant woman who helped build Seattle’s Chinatown. Her living room is interactive with objects meant to be felt, opened  and experienced.   The Museum is located at 719  South King St. (206) 623-5124 or  visit www.wingluke.org. Closed Mondays. Tuesday – Sunday from 10am – 5pm. First Thursday of each month is free from 10am – 8pm. Third Saturday of each month is free from 10am – 8pm.

Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park is now closed for what is projected to be a renovation and extension that will take several years.

“Familiar Faces & New Voices: Surveying Northwest Art”  stays on view through the summer of 2019. This group show is a chronological walk through of Northwest art history, illustrated with the works of noted artists from each time period as well as lesser-known but just as important figures. Different works will be displayed throughout the run of this show. Includes the work of Patti Warashina, Roger Shimomura, Joseph Park, Alan Lau (full disclosure, that’s me)  and many others. Tacoma Art Museum at 1701 Pacific Ave. 253-272-4258 or email [email protected] or go to www.TacomaArtMuseum.org.

To celebrate the Navarathri Festival, the Friends of Asian Art association presents a program on “The Visual Art Forms of India.” In a special one afternoon-only exhibition and talk, we will showcase the history, culture and ideas of India as revealed through unique styles of the art with artists Yamini Gourishankar, Deppti Arawalmittal and Amrutha Jayachandran. On Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018 at 1pm. At Phinney Center located at 6532 Phinney Ave. N. in the lower level Brick Building, Room #3. Pre-register at http://friendsofasianart.org/eventflyer5.html or get tickets at the door.

Chiu-Chen Liu is the “2018 Visual Artist-in-Residence” at this year’s Olympic Music Festival. Liu’s work on paper extends from a blend of early 20^th century French references and deploys a playful free-wandering quality of line. The festival takes place at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, WA. Throughout the summer into early September. 360-385-9699 or try http://www.olympicmusicfestival.org/

Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center presents the following – “Oregon Nikkei: Reflections of an American Community – Japanese American Life in Oregon” is an ongoing exhibit.  Beginning this year, visitors can see artifacts of the collection up close as the stacks will be open to see as the staff does filing. Through August 5, 2018 will be a show entitled “A Soldier’s Story: The Photo Album of Yukimori Okimoto Who Served During WWII with the 522^nd Field Artillery, Liberators of the Subcamps of Dachau.” July 14 – August 5, 2018 brings a show entitled “Oshu Nippo: Artifacts from Portland’s Japanese Language Newspaper – 1909 – 1951”. 121 NW Second Ave. in  Portland. 503-224-1458 or go to www.oregonnikkeir.org.

Portland Japanese Garden has some interesting shows planned for this year.  Sept. 15 – Nov. 4, 2018 is a show entitled “Gion Matsuri: The World’s Oldest Urban Festival”. This 900 year old festival in Kyoto, featuring elaborately decorated floats from all provinces of Japan. A wall of video monitors shows the festival procession, Kyoto’s top photographers provide still images and festival musicians will visit to perform the unique festival music. “Manga Hokusai Manga” comes Dec. 1 – Jan. 14, 2019. This is the only venue in the U.S. in which viewers can see the world famous manga woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai displayed alongside work by top modern manga artists. 611 South Kingston Ave. 503-223-1321  or try japanesegarden.org.

“Remembering a Patron – Asian Art Donations from Dr. Judith Patt” is a group show honoring the legacy of this woman who generously donated Asian works of art to the AGGV for over 40 years. The show includes important Chinese and Japanese paintings to a variety of Japanese prints from the 18^th to 20^th century. On view until  January 7 2019. Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is at1040 Moss St. in Victoria, BC, Canada. 250-384-4171 or go to aggv.ca.

Vancouver Art Gallery –  July 14, 2018 through Oct. 28, 2018 is the show entitled “Ayumi Goto & Peter Morin: how do you carry the land?” It looks at  the artist’s performance art works and the ongoing collaboration between a Japanese Canadian woman and a Tahltan First Nation man. On view through Oct. 8, 2018  in VAG’s offsite location is  the work of Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. He is acclaimed for his innovative use of inexpensive local materials in the creation of temporary shelters for those made homeless by environmental or political disasters. On view is the prototype “log cabin” shelter he designed in response to the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Built of cardboard tubing, the cabin expresses the architect’s concerns with sustainability and humanitarianism in the service of disaster relief.  Vancouver Art Gallery is at 750 Hornby St. in Vancouver, BC Canada. 604-662-4719 or  vanartgallery.bc.ca.

“Karin Lee: Queer-sum” is the title of a show at SUM Gallery located on the fourth floor of the B.C. Artscape Sun Wah Building in Chinatown. The gallery takes its name from the dim sum restaurant  for which the space was originally designed. The board of advisors wanted for the inaugural exhibition, an artist with deep links to Vancouver’s Chinese and queer communities, a woman whose work was challenging and transgressive and queer. They chose local artist Karin Lee who is fourth-generation Chinese Canadian. Three film/media works by Lee will be shown in conjunction with Pride in Art’s Queer Arts Festival. Remains on view through  August 6, 2018. 268 Keefer St.  Call +1-604-684-2925 or go to queerartsfestival.com for details.

Nikkei National Museum presents the following – Kayla Isomura’s “The Suitcase Project”  will be on  view through Sept. 2018.The museum  has numerous online exhibits as well as offsite exhibits. Check their website for details. The Nikkei National Museum is at 6688 Southoaks  Crescent in Burnaby. 604-777-7000 or go to nikkeiplace.org.

Chinese Cultural Centre Museum has the ongoing exhibit “Generation to Generation – History of Chinese Canadians in British Columbia.” 555 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC. 604-658-8880. Admission by  donation.

“The Lingering Charm: Oil Paintings by Xue Yanqun” on view through Sept. 12, 2018 at Poly Culture Art Center. 100-905 W. Pender St. in Vancouver, BC Canada. 604-564-5766  or try polyculture.us/.

The Pendulum Gallery has “Appearance: New Works by Jianjun An” from August 20 – Sept. 8, 2018. An was trained as an architectural designer and was born in China where he attended Shan Dong University of Art & Design. He immigrated to Canada in 2005. 885 W. Georgia St. Vancouver, BC. 1-604-250-9682. Go to pendulumgallerybc.ca for details.

Germaine Koh  contributes to the housing discourse through her exploration of small scale dwelling and “social sculptures” in her exhibit entitled “Germaine Koh: Home Made Home” on view until August 26, 2018 at Richmond Art Gallery in Richmond, Canada. 180-7700 Minoru Gate. 604-247-8300  or try richmondartgallery.org.

An ongoing exhibit entitled “Call for Justice: Fighting for Japanese Canadian Redress (1977-1988)” is on view at Nanaimo Museum at 100 Museum Way in Nanaimo, Canada. 250-753-1821 or go to nanaimomuseum.ca.

Asian Art Museum, San Francisco has the following – “Traces of the Past and Future: Fu Shen’s Paintings and Calligraphy” celebrates this noted artist’s 80^th birthday with his first exhibition in the U.S. on view through Sept. 16, 2018. “When Pictures Speak – The Written Word in Japanese Art” on view through  August 19, 2018.   On going are two installations. In front of the museum is “Dragon Fortune” by Taiwanese artist Hung Yi which meshes together Taiwanese folk art, Japanese textile design and pop art kids cartoons. In the lobby is “Collected Letters” by Liu Jianhua, a cutting edge installation of porcelain letters and fragments of Chinese characters suspended in mid-air. 200 Larkin St. 415-581-3500.

LACMA or Los Angeles County  Museum of Art  has “The Jeweled Isle: Art from Sri Lanka” from Dec. 9, 2018 – June 23, 2019. This is the first comprehensive survey of Sri Lankan art organized by an American museum. 5905 Wilshire Blvd. 323-857-6010.

The Broad has had a Yayoi Kusama infinity room entitled “The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away” in their permanent collection for some time. Now they have added a second one entitled “Longing For Eternity” to their collection. Visitors can see it on view beginning March 17, 2018. For tickets, go to [email protected].

The Japanese American National Museum has the following shows  – “HAPA ME – 15 Years of the HAPA Project” on view through Oct. 28, 2018. Tracks artist Kip Fulbeck’s documentation of mixed race individuals from childhood to the present in images and text in their own words. “What We Carried: Fragments & Text Memories From Iraq & Syria. Jim Lommasson’s photos capture what these refugees brought from their homelands to their new home in America. Through August 5, 2018. “Common Ground: The Heart of Community.” This overview exhibit of Japanese American history is ongoing.

100 N. Central Ave. in Los Angeles. 213-625-0414 or go to http://www.janm.org.

The USC Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena is one of the few U.S. institutions dedicated to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. It closed its 1924 building for more than a year for a seismic retrofit and a makeover of its galleries. The museum has now re-opened to the public. “Ceremonies And Celebrations: Textile Treasures from the USC Pacific Asia Museum Collection” is on view from Sept. 14 – Jan. 6, 2019. 46 N. Los Robles Ave. 626-449-2742 or email [email protected].

“Chiura Obata: An American Modern” is the first retrospective of this noted Bay area artist whose work reflected the glories of the American landscape from the Grand Canyon to Yosemite. His influence could also be felt at UC Berkeley where he had a distinguished teaching career. He also helped found art schools in internment camps during WWII.  Curated by ShiPu Wang with a catalogue. 805-893-2951. After Santa Barbara, the exhibition travels to the following sites. May 25 – Sept. 2, 2018 at Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City. Jan. 18 – March 10, 2019 at Okayama Prefecture Museum of Art in Okayama, Japan (the artist’s hometown), June 23 – Sept. 29, 2019 at Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.

“Gannenmono – A Legacy of Eight Generations in Hawai’i” (see related article in this issue) is a new exhibit that honors the 150^th Anniversary of the arrival of the first plantation workers in Hawai’i from Japan known as “Gannenmono.” It will use first-hand accounts, historic illustrations and authentic cultural objects to tell the story of the 150 Japanese workers who crossed the Pacific to Hawai’i and how their trials, perseverance and victories shaped the history of both Japan and Hawai’i. The Bishop Museum. 1525 Bernice St. in Honolulu, Hi. 808-847-3511 or [email protected].

“Okagesama De: I Am What I Am Because Of You” is a newly renovated permanent exhibit that tells the cultural story of the incredible legacies and values passed on from generation to generation starting with the first wave of Japanese immigrants to Hawai’i up to the present day. On view  at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i. 2454 South Beretania St. 808-945-7633 or try [email protected].

Denver Art Museum  has the following – Next in a series of exhibitions featuring contemporary artists that the museum feels should have fuller exposure in the region in the Logan Gallery and FuseBox in the Hamilton Building’s fourth floor features work by Native American visual artist Julie Buffalohead and Japan-based conceptual artist Shimabuku. Both artists use the depiction of animals as a vehicle to explore both familiar and unfamiliar narratives related to their personal heritage and the world around them. Buffalohead uses metaphors, iconography and storytelling narratives to describe the emotional and subversive American Indian cultural experience. Shimabuku showcases a video entitled “do snowmonkeys remember snow mountains?” in which a group of Japanese snow monkeys are transported from their natural habitat of snow-capped Japanese mountains to a Texas desert sanctuary. Shimabuku uses these Texas primates as a surrogate for humans to explore ideas of migration, environmental adaptation and memory. Featured at the 57^th  Venice Biennale in 2017. Both installations on view from July 29, 2018 – Jan. 20, 2019. 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway in Denver, CO. Call 720-865-5000 or go to www.denverartmuseum.org.

The Freer/Sackler Gallery on the Smithsonian Mall shows you how religion and art mix in “Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia through Nov. 29, 2020. 202-633-1000 or go to FreerSackler.si.edu for details.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has the following – “The Poetry of Nature: Edo Paintings from the Fishbein-Bender Collection” through Jan. 21, 2019.  “A Passion for Jade: Heber Bishop and His Collection” through July 22, 2018. “Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal” through Dec.16, 2018. “Japanese Arms and Armor from the Collection of Etsuko and John Morris” through Jan. 6, 2019. “Streams and Mountains Without End: Landscape Traditions of China” through Jan. 6, 2019.1000 Fifth Ave. New York, New York. Go to metmuseum.org for details.

The 2018 Aperture Summer Open – The Way We Live Now” features eighteen artists and photographers trying to capture the pulse of rapid change in our society. Includes the work of Gowun Lee, Vincent Hung and many others. Through August 16, 2018. Aperture Gallery at 547 West 27^th St. 4^th Floor. 212-505-5555 or go to aperture.org.

Artist/sculptor Huma Bhabha grew up in Karachi, Pakistan but has lived in the US for almost 30 years. She lives with her artist husband in the Hudson Valley. She will be the next artist to be featured in the popular roof-installation series at the Metropolitan Museum of art in New York. She’ll be bringing a big ax, literally. The installation entitled “We Come in Peace” will be comprised of two alien figures rough-cut chopped with an ax out of a block of cork. She likes to work with unwieldy materials like cork, styrofoam and burned wood. The installation at the Met is on view through  Oct. 28, 2018. She has a solo show in Sept. at Contemporary Austin, a piece at the 57^th Carniege International in Pittsburgh and a retrospective at ICA Boston in March of 2019. The Met is at 1000 Fifth Ave. in New York City. Go to metmuseum.org for details.

The Rubin Museum of Art has the following shows – Work by Chitra Ganesh through Nov. 4, 2018. “Sacred Spaces” through Oct. 15, 2018. “The Second Buddha” through Jan. 7, 2019. “Masterworks of Himalayan Art” through March 25, 2018.  “Gateway to Himalayan Art” through July 16, 2018. “A Monument for the Anxious and Hopeful” through Nov. 11, 2018. “The Sacred Buddha – Master of Time” through Jan. 7, 2019. “A Lost Future” by Shezad Dawood – The Otolith” through Jan. 28, 2019. 150 W. 17^th St. New York, New York. 212-620-5000×344 or go to rubinmuseum.org.

The Museum of Chinese in America looks at the role of Chinese medicine in two shows. “Chinese Medicine in America: Converging Ideas, People, and Practices” is on view through Sept. 9, 2018.  And another show with a Northwest twist is “On the Shelves of Kam Wah Chung & Co.: General Store and Apothecary in John Day Oregon” which looks at the role Ing Hay, a Chinese herbalist played in the frontier Northwest as a healer and doctor. On view through  Sept. 9, 2018. 215 Centre St. New York, NY. 855-955-MOCA or go to mocanyc.org.

The Asia Society Museum in New York presents the following – “Clouds Stretching for a Thousand Miles: Ink in Asian Art” through August 12, 2018. This show celebrates the versatility and enduring influence of the calligraphic ink tradition across Asia with works by Gu Wenda, Hunag Yan, Minjung Kim, Qiu Zhijie and Sun Xun. The contemporary work will be shown alongside two newly acquired illuminated Qur’ans from China & Central Asia and will illustrate the innovative use of ink and calligraphy in visual expression, from the thirteenth century to the present, across Asia and the diaspora. To find out more, go to AsiaSociety.org/NY. 725 Park Ave. New York City, New York. 212-327-9721 or go to www.asiasociety.org for more details.

The Guggenheim has the show, “One Hand Clapping – The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative Finale Exhibition”, a group show of contemporary Chinese artists Samson Young, Wong Ping, Cao Fei, Duan Jianyu and Liu Yilin on view through Oct. 21, 2018. 1071 Fifth Ave. New York, NY. Go to Guggenheim.org for details.

Yayoi Kusama’s outdoor installation entitled “Narcissus Garden” was first presented in 1966 at the Venice Biennale. It consists of 1,500 mirrored stainless steel spheres. Since then, it has been installed around the world, including  Brazil and  New York’s Central Park. Now a new site-specific version will be unveiled starting July 1, 2018 as part of MOMA PS1’s “Rockaway!”, a  yearly arts festival devoted to the ongoing recovery of the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy. It will be on view through Sept. 3, 2018 and is presented in collaboration with the Rockaway Artists Alliance, Jamaica Bay – Rockaway Parks Conservancy, National Park Service and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The Cleveland Museum of Art has the following –

The Yayoi Kusama “Infinity Mirrors” show continues its tour with a stop here July 7, 2018 – Sept. 30, 2018. 11150  East Blvd.  216-421-7350.

Museum of Fine Arts Boston has the following. “Japanese Prints: The Psychedelic Seventies” through August 12, 2018 with work by Yokoo Tadanori, Takeda Hideo and Oda Mayumi. “10,000 Miles Along The Yangzi River” allows viewers to embark on a transcontinental journey in imperial China via the visual stimulation of Chinese brush painting. July 21 – Sept. 30, 2018.  9300 Avenue of the Arts. 465 Huntington Ave. Go to mfa.org or call 617-267-9300.

The Peabody Essex Museum presents “Empresses of China’s Forbidden City”, the first major international exhibition to explore  the role of empresses in China’s Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Includes many works never seen before in the U.S. August 18 – Feb. 10, 2019. 161 Essex St. in Salem, MA. 978-745-9500 or go to pem.org. This show moves on to the Freer/Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Mall in Washington D.C. March 30 – June 23, 2019.

The Art Institute of Chicago presents the following.  “The Yoshida Family: Three Generations of Japanese Print Artists” runs July 7 – Sept. 30, 2018. Many members of this family have figured prominently in the history of Japanese printmaking throughout the years.   “Rhythm of the Weave” includes a wide range of textiles from around the world from the 14^th century to the 20^th century on view through Oct. 21, 2018. 111 South Michigan Ave. 312-443-3600.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art has the following.  “In Focus: Contemporary Japan” through Aug. 12, 2018. “Love Affairs: The Tale of Genji in Japanese Art” on view from August 18, 2018 through March 10, 2019.“Touring Japan Through Landscape – Prints by Kawase Hasui” on view through August 5, 2018. “Enchanted Mountains: Chinese Landscape Painting from MIA’s Collection” through Nov. 18, 2018.Minneapolis Institute of Art. 2400 Third Ave. S. Call toll free at 888-642-2787.

The Saint Louis Art Museum presents the following – “Sun Xun: Time Spy” is on view through Oct. 21, 2018.  Contemporary Chinese artist Sun Xun uses woodblock printing, a centuries-old technique, to reimagine and transform the 21^st century medium of digital animated film. More than 10,000 woodblocks were carved, than inked and digitally scanned to create animation cells. A selection of the woodblocks used to create the film will also be on display. Since the artist’s work is in constant dialogue with art history, the Museum will also display four prints by Albrecht Durer in recognition of the German Renaissance artist’s influence on his own practice. “Chinese Buddhist Art, 10^th – 15^th Centuries”  remains on view through August 30, 2018. One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri. 314-721-0072 or go to slam.org.

The Dallas Museum of Art has the following – “Asian Textiles: Art Along the Silk Road”  stays on view until Dec. 9, 2018. 1717 N. Harwood  in Dallas, TX. 214-992-1200.

Asia Society Texas Center in Houston presents the debut of Japanese artist Ayomi Yoshida’s large scale installation that looks at investigations of time, life cycles in nature and sensory memory. The piece includes video projections, vinyl applications on glass, hard carved and painted wall installations and a scrim complemented by intricate silkscreen-printed paper suspensions hung from the ceiling. The work is also inspired by Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi’s design. On view through Jan. 13, 2019. Free and open to the public. 1270 Southmore Blvd. in Houston. 713-496-9901 or go to asiasociety.org.

Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-1799) was  one of the most eccentric and imaginative brush painters in Edo, Japan. The exhibition “Rosetsu: Ferocious Brush” unravels the many mysteries of his enigmatic career. This marks the first time a large gathering of his work will be shown together outside of Japan. Sept. 6 – Nov. 4, 2018. Museum  Rietberg at Gablerstrasse 15, 8002 in Zurich, Switzerland. 41-44-415-31-31 or go to rietberg.ch.

“Takiguchi Shuzo And the  Artists Who Captivated Him” through Sept. 24, 2018. “A Group Show from the MOMAT Collection” on view through Sept. 24, 2018. National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. 1-1 Kitanomaru-koen, Chiyoda-ku,  Tokyo, Japan.

Noted Japanese modern art collector Toshio Hara, head of the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo has the following – “Mami Kosemura: Phantasies Over Time” on view through Sept. 2, 2018. Go to www.haramuseum.or.jp for details.

Miho Museum in Shiga. “100 Modern Tea Scoops – Connoisseurship and Society” on view Oct. 20 – Dec. 2, 2018. “Red And Blue – Exploring The World of Sacred Colors”  on view through August 26, 2018. “Ancient Civilizations of The Americas – The Human and the Supernatural” on view from Sept. 8 – Oct. 8, 2018. Go to www.miho.or.jp/en for details.

“New Wave: Japanese Contemporary Art of the 1980’s” on view from Nov. 3, 2018 through Jan. 20, 2019. The National  Museum of Art, Osaka. 4-2-55 Nakanoshima,  Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. +81-3-3212-2485.

“Make A Joyful Noise” is a permanent exhibit where you can view, hear, touch and play instruments from around the world. Hamamatsu  Museum of Musical Instruments. 3-9-1 Chuo, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. O53-451-1128.

“Pathways to Paradise: Medieval India And Europe” is on view at the Getty until August 5, 2018. J. Paul Getty Museum is at 1200 Getty Center Dr. in Los Angeles. 1-310-440-7330 or try [email protected].

“From the Lands of Asia: The Sam And Myrna Myers Collection” is on view through August 19, 2018. 400 objects culled from China, Japan, Tibet , Mongolia, Korea and Vietnam. Kimball Art Museum. 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd. in Ft. Worth, Texas. 817-332-8451.

The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway and Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture issued a call to artists to submit to this project  which will be a physical place for remembrance and reflection, utilizing technology to share stories about the epidemic and the diverse community responses to the crisis. A five-member, community-based  panel chose Portland artist Horatio Hung-Yan Law to lead a team of artists to complete the project. Much of the artist’s work stems from his identity and experience as a gay U.S. citizen of Asian descent. Law’s work can be seen locally at Asian Counseling & Referral Service (ACRS). The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway is part of the Seattle Capitol Hill Light Rail station development slated to open in mid – 2020. Information on the artist and project is at TheAMP.org.

Brother Nut, a Chinese artist/activist has hit a nerve with his latest installation. He took 9,000 bottles nearly identical to those of Nongfu Spring, one of China’s popular spring water brands but filled them instead with murky, polluted water from the village of Xiaohaotu in Shaanxi Province. The water there is polluted with heavy metals, the likely result of coal mining and gas exploration operations nearby. His exhibit was shut down by the Beijing Bureau of Industry  and Commerce since Nongfu Spring complained about copyright infringement. Undaunted, Brother Nut found more bottles and refilled them with more village  polluted water. He now drives around Beijing with his portable art installation in an open van. Local village authorities are now testing the water but the artist has doubts that the government will take permanent steps to solve the problem. The artist says “Water pollution is very common, it’s very common around the world, but it never receives any special attention. There are so many villages like Xiaohaotu who have been drinking water like this for years, and then they get cancer, skin disease, their sheep die, but no one cares. People just don’t know.” Brother Nut remains committed to the idea that art has the power to change. “If it’s something that has meaning, that has moral value, and we don’t support it, then what is our art for?” Excerpted from an article that originally appeared in the New York Times.

Fujiko Nakaya is an artist best known for her “fog sculptures” in which she experiments with water, air and clouds. She received the Praemium Imperiale, a Japanese award often called the Nobel Prize for the arts. Awarded by Japan’s imperial family.

Performing Arts

Theater Schmeater presents Qui Nguyen’s (“Vietgone”) “She Kills Monsters through August 18. It’s a comedic romp into the world of fantasy-role playing games. When Agnes leaves her childhood home following the death of her teenage sister, she finds her sister’s “Dungeons & Dragons” notebook. It serves as a map of discovery to the sister she never really knew.  2125 3^rd Ave. 206-324-5801 or [email protected] for information.Tickets available through www.brownpapertickets.com.

Midnight Rice Productions present “The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up” by Carla Ching at Theatre Off Jackson. As kids, a boy and girl are forced to be companions as their parents get it on. Perpetually forced together during their parents’ on again/off again relationship, the two become unlikely friends as they commiserate about their own growing pains and life experiences. But will their friendship survive when they start falling in love?  Directed by Jasmine Joshua. Parental supervision suggested.  Through August 5, 2018. For evening shows, the doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 8pm. For matinees, the doors open at 1pm and the show starts at 2pm. For tickets go to theatreoffjackson.org or try Brown Paper Tickets. 409  7^th Ave. S. in the CID.

The annual lantern floating ceremony honoring victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima/Nagasaki and all victims of war known as “From Hiroshima to Hope” takes place on Monday, August 6, 2018 at Green Lake near the bathhouse Theater staring at 6pm. Guest speaker is Gilberto Perez, emcee is Stan Shikuma and the Seattle Kokon Taiko drum group perform. Go to fromhiroshimatohope.org for details.

“Anima: A Future Without Borders” imagines a borderless future and is a performance piece that combines music, mythology, dance and new media. Featuring a multi-cultural cast of performers and musicians from the Bay Area and Seattle. Opening performances by local Korean drumming ensemble Olleam and LQ Lion Dance Troupe.  On Friday, August 10 at 8:30pm at the Duwamish Waterway Park at 7900 10^th Ave. S. and Sat., August 11 at 8:30pm at Cal Anderson Park at 1635 11^th Ave. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill. Free and family-friendly.  Presented by Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and Seattle Parks & Recreation.

“Queen” by Madhuri Shekar is a play co-presented by Pratidhwani and ACTLab from August 3 – August 19, 2018 in its West Coast premiere. This play is about the pursuit of truth, relationships, and bees. What happens when two graduate students have spent over a decade researching vanishing bee populations across the globe only to stumble upon an error in their theory just before publishing a career-defining paper. How far would you go to defy your ethics and integrity and at what cost? Directed by Agastya Kohli. For details, go to www.pratidhwani.org/queen or [email protected]. ACT Theatre at 700 Union St. in downtown Seattle. Try acttheatre.org or 206-292-7676 for tickets.

IE contributing writer Imana Gunawan is a Texas-born Indonesian storyteller, multimedia journalist, dance artist and creative director. Now she presents “Moonshine”, a new cabaret which she has directed, written and produced. It features performance by dancers of Au Collectie, costumes by Hallie Scott, visuals by Anissa Amalia, and new commissioned music performed live by Seattle QTPOC artists – Donte “DaQween” Johnson, Emma Lee Toyoda, AnsarEl and CarLarans – all produced by Luna God. The piece centers around the following ideas – Moon cycles have the ability to transform worlds, creatures, and beings on earth since the beginning of time. But what does the moon wish for? Whom does it love? What if it can feel all the transformations it triggers? And what if it is moved to stop all its revolutions? The event takes place on Thursday, August 16, 2018. Doors open at 7pm with a buffet hour and the show begins at 8pm. Free but you must RSVP to insure a seat. Part of the “Nights at the Neptune”, a free summer series of events at the Neptune Theatre at NE 45^th & Broadway Ave. in the University District. Sponsored by Artist Trust and presented by STG.  For details on the show, go to imanagunawan.com/cabaret or call STG at 1-800-982-2787.

The Wayward Music Series takes place at Good Shepherd Center on the 4^th floor. It is a space for adventurous music of all genres. All concerts start at 8pm. On August 10, sitarist Pandit Debi Prasad Chatterjee collaborates with pianist Sheila Weidendorf. August 17 brings electronic music by Karl Fousek (Montreal) and Michael Masaru Flora (Minnesota). August 18 features music for double basses and electronics by Rebecca Lawrence and James Vitz-Wong. August 24 has the group Radon Daughters who appear with butoh dancer Kaoru Okumura + Caspar Sonnet + Adam Levitt in a concert of sound, movement and light.4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. Go to [email protected].

The Arteast Art Center presents “USTAV!”, a 3-month celebration of Asian Indian culture featuring art, music, dance, and Indian traditions July 17 – Sept. 12, 2018 in Issaquah. Activities include exhibitions, classes, demos, and summer camp ending in a final, full-day community event on Sept. 8 in downtown Issaquah. Find event registrations and art calls at arteast.org. Presented in partnership with Issaquah Highlands Council, Downtown Issaquah Association and India Culture Club. Arteast Art Center is located at 95 Front St. N. in Issaquah. 425-392-3191  or try www.arteast.org.

Seattle Art Museum’s Gardner Center for Asian Art & Ideas presents their World Music Series throughout the summer at the Volunteer Park Amphitheater on 7pm every Friday throughout July into early August, 2018. The series concludes on August 3, 2017 with the Deems Tsutakawa Band with special guest Jeff Kashiwa. Go to visitsam.org/worldmusic for details.

“Dancing til Dusk” is an outdoor dancing event in Seattle parks all summer. West Coast Swing  with Dj Joichi Tsunoda in Westlake Park takes place on August 7, 2018. Dancing begins at 6pm with a free lesson during the first hour. For details, go to danceforjoy.biz.

The Annex Theatre presents “The Great Inconvenience” on their Summer Main Stage through August 18, 2018. Written by Holy Arsenault and Directed by Erin Kraft. It’s a new story about families, histories and nations. Mi Y. Kang is in the cast. Performances on  Thurs., Fri. and Sat.  at 7:30pm. At 11^th & Pike on Capital Hill.Tickets at the door.

William Shakespeare Company is the Puget Sound Region’s year-round professional classical theatre. Upstart Crow Collective is dedicated to producing classical works with all-female casts for contemporary audiences. These two groups join forces to present “Richard III” as directed by Rosa Joshi from Sept. 12 to Oct. 7, 2018 at Leo K. Theatre at Seattle Repertory Theatre at 155 Mercer St. downtown. 206-733-8222 or try seattleshakespeare.org.

“From North India To The Northwest – Classical Hindustani And Contemporary Western Classical Music” comes to Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island at 7pm on August 11, 2018. 20103 State Route 525 in Freeland, WA. 360-321-8656 or go to neilwelch.com.

Singer/songwriter Tomo Nakayama shares the bill with Tom Brosseau at The Triple Door on  August 15, 2018. 216 Union St. in downtown Seattle. 206-838-4333.

The Little Saigon Festi-Roll takes place on Sun., August 26 from 11am – 6pm in the ID/Little Saigon neighborhood. This fun event brings together Vietnamese American food, culture and entertainment with a variety of food vendors, live performances, children’s activities, pho and spring roll eating contests and more.

A touring production of Broadway’s Tony Award@-Winning musical “Come From Away” makes its debut at 5^th Avenue Theatre this fall.  Oct. 9 – Nov. 4, 2018. By Irene Sankoff & David Hein, directed by  Christopher Ashley, musical staging by Kelly Devine & music supervision/arrangements by Ian Esendrath.This musical tells the true story of the 7,000 stranded passengers in the aftermath of 9/11 and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Christine Toy Johnson is in the large cast Single tickets on sale now and at www.5thavenue.org or by calling 206-625-1900. 1308 5^th Ave. in downtown Seattle.

Dukesbay Theater was founded by Randy Clark and Aya Hashiguchi at the  Merlino Arts Center in Tacoma to support theatre in the area. Opening Oct. 19 and running through Nov. 4, 2018 will be a play by Philip Kan Gotanda entitled “Yohen.” It tells the story of a young Afro American G.I. in Japan who meets and weds a Japanese woman. Flash forward to their life in America. As he settles into retirement, their marriage unravels. In a trial separation, he volunteers for a non-profit community center and she focuses on pottery. The play explores love, marriage, aging, cultural & racial bridges and the beauty of creation in your own art and life. 568 South Sixth Ave. #10. 253-350-7680 or try [email protected].

The Meany Center For The Performing Arts – Looking forward to the 2018/2019 season, look out for the following. The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble are one of the premier Indian Classical Dance ensembles performing today. They have the distinction of making the New York Times “Best Dance of the Year” list two years running. They will make their Meany debut with special guest artists from Sri Lanka’s Chitrasena Dance Company to perform the critically acclaimed collaborative piece “Samhara” performed with both Indian and Sri Lankan musicians. Oct. 4 – 6, 2018  at 8pm. The Taiwan Philharmonic has been hailed as one of Asia’s best. They make their Seattle debut on Nov. 3, 2018 at 7:30pm under the baton of Shao-chia Lu. They perform Brahms, noted Taiwan composer Gordon Chin’s “Dancing Song” and are joined by pianist Stephen Hough for Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq returns to Seattle on Feb. 8, 2019. Her vocal improvisations bridge traditional roots with contemporary culture, stirring in punk, metal and electronics. Time for Three is a ground  breaking string trio that transcends tradition as well by mixing elements of pop and rock into their classical foundation. They perform on April 18, 2019. Yekwon Sunwoo won the Gold Medal at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He makes his Seattle debut in a program of Schumann, Liszt, Beethoven and Schubert. One performance  only on Sat.,  May 4, 2019  at 7:30pm.  All tickets now available as part of a Meany Center subscription package and remaining single tickets go on sale on August 1, 2018. You can order online at meanycenter.org or call 206-543-4880 or visit the ticket office at 41st Street between University Way  NE & Brooklyn Ave. NE. tickets available via FAX too at 206-685-4141.

Stand-up comic Aparna Nancherla appears at the Neptune  in Seattle’s University District on Sept. 22, 2018. Go to stgpresents.org or call 1-800-982-2787 for details.

Conductor Ludovic Morlot ends his tenure with the Seattle Symphony with a varied and stimulating series of concerts. Some highlights include  noted soprano Yasko Sato who is featured in Seattle Symphony’s performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 Dec. 28 – 30, 2018. At the Taper auditorium. The annual “Celebrate Asia” concert is back on Jan. 27 at 4pm in Taper Auditorium. The theme this year is Korea. The orchestra will be led by highly touted conductor Shiyeon Sung known for finding the right balance between dynamic passion and even handed music making. Pianist Seong-Jin Chao won the Gold Medal at the Chopin International Competition and has never looked back. He will be a featured soloist. Soprano Kathleen Kim is a regular guest at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera and will grace the stage with her beautiful voice. The program consists of work by John Adams, Rachmaninov, Narong Prangcharoen, Unsuk Kim and traditional Korean folk songs. Taper Auditorium. The Silkroad Ensemble (featured in a documentary film) returns with the world premiere of Kinan Azmeh’s clarinet concerto, composer/pianist Vijay Iyer’s “City of Sand”, Edward Perez’s “Latina 6/8 Suite” and a world premiere by noted composer Chen Yi. Wed., Feb. 6 at 7:30pm in the Taper Auditorium. All concerts at Benaroya  Hall in downtown Seattle. Go to seattlesymphony.org for details.

Seattle Pro Musica specializes in the performance and promotion of modern and ancient choral music under the direction of artistic director Karen Thomas.  They present a concert entitled “Pacific Voices – Choral Music by Asian and Asian American Composers” on Sat., March 9, 2019 at 7:30pm at Seattle First Baptist Church at 1111 Harvard Ave. in Seattle and again on Sunday, March 10, 2019 at 7:30pm at Trinity Lutheran Church at 6215 196^th St. WW in Lynnwood, WA.  Composers performed are Hyo-Won Woo, Sungji Hong, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Budi Susanto Yohanes, Victor Paranjoti and A. R. Rahman of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame. Advance tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets or you could get them online at seattlepromusica.org.

The Olympic Music Festival takes place at Fort Worden’s Joseph F. Wheeler Theater in Port Townsend, WA throughout the summer into early September, 2018. Concerts start at 2pm. Includes Jinjoo Cho on violin, Eunae Koh on violin, Ayane Kozasa on viola, Sung Jin Lee on viola, Julia Yang on cello, Kristin Lee on violin, Yura Lee on violin and many others. 360-385-9699 or try http://www.olympicmusicfestival.org/.

Jazz Alley has the following.  Jazz pianist/composer Keiko Matsui returns for her annual concert August 23 – 26. 2033 6^th Ave. 206-441-9729 or go to jazzalley.com.

APCC presents their 21^st Annual Polynesian Luau on Sat., August 18, 2018 from 4pm – 8pm. Includes cultural dances from each Asian Pacific island, live music by Alex Kaeka Ukulele Club, a delicious island menu plus cultural booths. Special gues is fire dancer Kap Te’o-tafiti. 4851 South Tacoma Way in Tacoma. 253-383-3900 or go to www.apcc96.org.

The Tibet Fest showcases that country’s arts and culture with entertainment, food and activities. August 25 – 26 at the Seattle Center Armory. 206-684-7200 or go to www.seattlecenter.com/festal.

The Triple Door presents “Kahulanui: Hawaii’s Kings of Swing” led by Lolena Naipo Jr. on Wed., Sept. 5, 2018 at 7:30pm. 216 Union St. 206-838-4333.

“Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy (registered trademark)”  with Seattle Symphony returns to Seattle on Wed., Sept. 12, 2018 at 7:30pm & Thurs., Sept. 13, 2018 at 7:30pm. This concert features the music of Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu who will be in attendance. It will be conducted by  Grammy Award winner Arnie Roth. This concert combines video and music to immerse the audience in the fantastical video game world of  Final Fantasy. Limited VIP meet & greet pre-sale tickes available now. Try [email protected].

September 9, 2018 marks the “Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival” held at Seattle Center’s Armory. 206-684-7200 or go to www.seattlecenter.com/festal.

Emerald City Music kicks off a new season on Sept. 14, 2018 with a concert entitled “Four Seasons.” Bella Hristova, Chad Hoopes, Kristin Lee (violins), Ayane Kozasa (viola), Paul Wiancko (cello), Daxun Zhang (bass), JP Jofre (bandoneon) and Li-Tan Hsu (piano) will perform tunes by Tartini, Wiancko, Bottesini and Piazolla. 8pm.  415 Westlake. 206-250-5510  or try www.emeraldcitymusic.org.

The city of Renton celebrates their diversity with a Multi-Cultural Festival held September 14 – 15. 425-430-6600 or go to rentonwa.gov.

The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts in Tacoma’s historic theater district presents the Chinese Warriors of Peking on Sept. 20, 2018.  253-591-5894 or try broadwaycenter.org.

October 20, 2018 marks the day of “Diwali: Lights of India Festival” at Seattle Center Armory. 206-684-7200 or go to www.seattlecenter.com/festal.

November 3, 2018 is the “Hmong New Year Celebration” at Seattle Center’s Armory. 206-684-7200 or try  www.seattlecenter.com/festal.

Early Music Seattle brings the highly praised Bach Collegium Japan with legendary conductor Masaaki Suzuki to Bastyr University Chapel. They will bring the best of the Baroque period to life. The program features harmonic inspirations from Vivaldi, Handel’s motet Slete Venti with soprano Joann Lunn and French-inspired dances by Bach. Sat., Dec. 8, 2018 at 7:30pm. 14500 Juanita Dr. N.E. in Kenmore, WA. Free Parking.  206-325-7066  or earlymusicseattle.org.

In local theatre news, Sara Porkalob is working on “Dragon Cycle” for 2019 at American Repertory Theatre. Justin Huertas is working on “Lydia and the Troll”  set for Seattle Repertory Theatre’s spring 2019 season.

The Tacoma Bon Odori Festival takes place on Sat., August 4 starting at 4:30pm. Tacoma Buddhist Temple at 1717 South Fawcett Ave.  Dancing/taiko/ Japanese food  & beer garden. Free.

The Powell Street Festival is the largest Japanese Canadian festival in the country. Takes place August 4 & 5 starting from 11:30am at Vancouver B.C.’s Oppenheimer Park in the 400 Block on Powell Street. The line-up of performers include virtuoso percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani and his Nakatani Gong Orchestra, Seattle rocker Emma Lee Toyoda, Katari Taiko, Kaya Kurz, The Sakura Singers and many others. On display at the Centre A Gallery at 268 Keefer St. will be work by Chiharu Mizukawa and Nao Uda. Seattle writer/performance artist Sophia Akiko Stephens will give a presentation on Asian fetishism. A Japanese Canadian young actors forum hosted by the Hapa-palooza  Festival includes Vancouver’s Koyu Rankin of “Isle of Dogs” film fame. Literary events include presentations by writer/manga translator Zach Davission, novelist/poet/playwright Terry Watada and Vancouver’s own Soramaru Takayama. For details, go to powellstreetfestival.com.

The 77^th Annual Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial Service takes place at 10am on Sunday, August 5, 2018 at Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple at 1427 South Main St. Free. Any persons who want to pay their respects to A-bomb victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are welcome to attend.

New Waves presents classical singer Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) in a concert of sufi devotional music on August 11, 2018 at 7:30pm Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver BC at 630 Hamilton St.  604-825-9133 or try vtixonline.com.

“Strip Alone Complex: A Burlesque Tribute to the music of Yoko Kanno” by Scarlett O’Hairdye & friends pays tribute to the cyberpunk composer of “Cowboy Bebop” fame. Sept. 14 – 15, 2018 at  The Rendezvous at 7pm.2322 – 2^nd Ave. 206-441-5823.

Seattle-bred, New York-based brass quartet The Westerlies (Riley Mulherkar plays trumpet in this group) return to Seattle to present the first annual Westerlies Fest, a four-day music festival in Seattle from Sept. 20 – 23 at Seattle Pacific University with Common Tone Arts. Seattle spoken word artist Troy Osaki will be one of the special guests. More information, and tickets available at westerliesfest.org.

Earshot Jazz is already planning their Fall Earshot Jazz Festival which begins Oct. 7, 2018. Expect pianist Helen Sung and vocalist Jen Shyu as part of the star-studded guest list. Visit www.earshot.org for upcoming details as fall draws closer.

“Beyond Ideas” is the title of Artswest’s 2018-2019 season. Some highlights include David Henry Hwang’s “M. Butterfly” set for January 24 – Feb. 17, 2019, Julia Cho’s “Office Hour” May 2 – May 26, 2019 and Justin Huertas’s musical, “The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion” June 20 – July 28, 2019.Learn more details about the entire new season at artswest.org. Artswest is located in West Seattle at 4711 California Ave. SW.

Zakir Hussain makes his annual visit to Seattle with his always  compelling “Masters of Percussion” ensemble featuring some world-class musicians. Set  for April 2, 2019 at the Moore Theatre. Presented by STG Presents. 206-812-1114.

Former Seattle resident, composer and USF Professor Byron Au Yong teams up with writer/collaborator Aaron Jafferis on the project “Activist Songbook” based on interviews of Asian Americans, immigrant and refugee organizations. The pair will collect interview, do workshops and performances in various cities up through the next U.S. Presidential Election on Nov. 3, 2020. They present a sample of their project at Montalvo Arts Center as part of the outdoor arts festival, “We The People.” Friday, July 20 at 6:30pm. 15400 Montalvo Road in Saratoga, California. 408-961-5858 or go to montalvoarts.org.

“88 Degrees & Rising Tour” features 18 year old Chinese Indonesian sensation Rich Brain who taught himself English by listening to popular hip hop artists. He will appear with Joji, Keith Ace, Higher Brothers KOHH, Niki August 08 & Don Krey. Oct. 27, 2018 at 7pm. Doors open at 6pm. For details, try accessoshowarecenter.com or 253-856-6999. For tickets, try www.tickets.accessoshowarecenter.com. Concert is at Accesso Showare Center.

Composer/educator/musician Vjay Iyer was the cover story in the August 2018 issue of Downbeat Magazine where he nabbed the “Jazz Artist & Jazz Group Of The Year” award in the 66^th Annual Critics Poll.

Asian AF is a monthly showcase for actors, story tellers and comedians of Asian descent that regularly sells out at U.C. B. Theaters in L.A. and New York. Started by L. A. comic/actor Will Choi at the time when actress Scarlet Johansson came under fire for starring in the Hollywood adaptation of the Japanese manga and later anime movie “Ghost in the Shell.” The series also led to offshoot groups like Filipino AF and South Asian AF and inspired a variety show/improve troupe in Austin known as “Y’all, We Asian.” For more information on the L.A. branch, go to Asianafshow.com. Excerpted from a story in the New York Times.

Film & Media

Seattle Asian American Film Festival’s Summer Cinema Series presents an outdoor screening (and sing-along) of the animated feature on the woman warrior entitled “MULAN” at 7:30pm on August 11, 2018 in Hing Hay Park at 423 Maynard Park in the CID. Free.

Grand Illusion Cinema has the following –  “Eight Diagram Pole Fighter” is one of the Shaw Brothers finest action films from their golden era. Filled with amazing fight sequences and staring Fu Sheng, Lily Li and Gordon Liu. Two brothers survive a massacre and seek revenge. Comes in 35mm with a secret kung fu bonus feature. One night only on August 11 at 7pm. “Maquia: When The Promised Flowers Blooms”  by Mari Okada is that rare anime film done by a Japanese woman director. It proved so popular in an earlier screening that the Grand Illusion brings it back for an encore. A girl who lives for centuries without again tempts fate by taking care of an orphaned baby boy from another world. By doing this, she invites heartbreak in the name of motherhood. Screens August 11 at 12:30pm and August 12 at 2:30pm. “Laughing Under The Clouds: Gaiden – Parts 1 & 2” is an adaptation of a famous Japanese supernatural manga series by Karakura-Kemuri done first as a tv series. An anime theatrical film trilogy adaptation by Wit Studio has made it into 3 parts. The series takes part during the Meiji Restoration with many criminals and renegade samurai roaming the country wrecking havoc. The Kumo brothers are given the responsibility of capturing these criminals and transporting them to an island prison in the middle of Lake Biwa. Screens August 25 – 27. Grand Illusion Cinema is at 1403 NE 50^th in Seattle’s University District. 206-523-3935.

The SIFF Uptown presents films for general distribution after their initial Seattle premieres at the Seattle International Film Festival 2018. Opening August 17, 2018 is “Puzzle”. It stars Kelly McDonald as a suburban housewife whose unexpected talent for solving crossword puzzles unlocks passions when she partners with a competitive puzzled champion played by Irrfan Khan (“The Lunchbox”). Opening August 24 is “The Third Murder”. It’s the return of Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda with an engrossing courtroom drama starring Masaharu Fukuyama as a prominent defence attorney who is stumped by his client (Koji Yakusho) who has already confessed but keeps changing his story.

SIFF Cinema Uptown is at 511 Queen Anne Ave. N. 206-464-5830.

In Megumi Sasaki’s documentary film “A Whale of a Tale”, American journalist Jay Alabaster tells the story behind the whale-hunting tradition in Wakayama, Japan, contrasted by the protests of environmental activists. Screens Sept. 14 – 16 at SIFF Film Center.305 Harrison St. 206-464-5830.

“Dog  Days” is a comedy about dogs and their owners in Los Angeles. Directed by Ken Marino with a script written by Elissa Matsueda. Screens at the Regal Meridian 16 in  downtown Seattle at 1501 – 7^th Ave. 849-462-7342×809.

ASIANCRUSH, the leading streaming service for Asian programming will premiere a new Chinese theatrical release each week from leading Chinese  theatrical distributors China Lion and Orchid Tree. Coming August 3, 2018 is “The King Of The Streets”, a martial arts street-fighting movie. “Run For Love” is set for August 10, 2018 and is an anthology of five stories set in locales around the world with different perspectives on love, family and home. August 17, 2018 brings “Anniversary” which looks at the fraying edges of a marriage where past betrayals force decisions in this emotional drama.  August 24 brings Chow Chong Fat in “Lucky Fat Man” which is the story of a man bullied by family in a stifling marriage. What happens when he wins the lotto? Find out in this comedy. August 31 is “Breakup Buddies”, one of the top grossing comedies in China in recent memory. A road  movie of one night stands across China with two friends. And the list goes on. To get more information on this continuing film series, visit www.digitalmediarights.com.

Local Sightings Film Festival is the Northwest Film Forum’s annual celebration of Northwest filmmakers. It takes place Sept. 21 – 29, 2018. Besides screenings, there will be artist talks, performances and networking events. 1515 12^th Ave. on Capitol Hill. Go to www.localsightings.org for details.

Coming to the SIFF Cinema Egyptian on Nov. 17, 2018 is a one-time free screening of “Ponyo” by Ghibli Studio. It’s the tale of a five year-old boy who develops a relationship with a goldfish  princess. Free but reservations must be made. It is jointly sponsored by  Delta Dental with a visit by the tooth fairy. 805 E. Pine. 206-324-9996.

Families filling movie theatres across the country to see the Pixar animated feature film, “Incredibles 2” will get an additional treat as “BAO”, a short animated film by Chinese Canadian Domee Shi is screened. It’s the story of a Chinese mom with a case of empty nest syndrome who gets another chance at motherhood when one of the dumplings she made comes to life as a tiny baby. Shi, who joined Pixar as a story intern in 2011 was eventually hired as a story artist. She has worked on “Inside Out”, “The Good Dinosaur” and “Toy Story 4”. She is the first woman to direct a Pixar short.

Fathom Events, VIZ Media and Toei Animation will ring the treasured animation features of “Sailor Moon” with an August exclusive.  “Sailor Moon SuperS – The Movie” features the classic anime’s third movie “Sailor Moon SuperS” along with a debut short entitled “Ami’s First Love” on Sat., August 4 at 12:55pm and Mon., August 6 at 7pm. Audiences will receive a special event poster while supplies last. Screens locally at various theatres such as Regal Auburn 17, Lincoln Square Cinemas, Regal Barkley Village, Regal Everett Mall 16, Century Federal Way, Regal Martin Village 16, Regal Alderwood Theatres 7, Capital Mall, Regal Poulsbo 10, Regal Bella Bottega 11, The Varsity Theatre, Regal Thornton Place 14 and Point Ruston. Tickets also at www.FathomEvents.com.

PBS’s “POV (Point of View)” is a series that presents new documentary films on subjects from all over the world. This season has the following –Yu Xiuhua is a Chinese woman poet who lives in a rural village made famous by social media. She lives in China afflicted by cerebral palsy. Director Jian Fan chronicles her struggles in the film, “Still Tomorrow” in which she deals with disputes in her family, her sudden rise to prominence as a poet and her navigation of a complicated marriage as her husband travels to Beijing to work in construction. Feeling socially and physically confined, Yu Xiuhua embraces poetry as her lifeline. Aires Monday, August 6, 2018 at 10pm. Check you local listings for times in your area. For more information, go to pov.org.

Fathom Events and Toei Animation, Inc. will bring three throwback Dragon Ball Z titles to theatres this fall. “Dragon Ball Z – The Legendary Super Saiyan” screens Sat., Sept. 15 at 12:55pm and Mon., Sept. 17 at 7pm. The double-feature “Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan” on Sat., Nov. 3 at 12:55pm and Mon. Nov. 5 at 7pm. Screens at theatres across the Puget Sound. Go to www.fathomevents.com for the complete schedule of theatres.

Kevin Kwan’s best-selling spoof of the wealthy among us  entitled “Crazy Rich Asians” comes to the big screen on August 7, 2018. Directed by Jon M. Chu with Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh.

If you have enjoyed an animated feature film from Japan’s Ghibli Studios and wished you could see more, here’s your chance. Fathom Events brings a Studio Ghibli Film Festival starting in March and going through November, 2018. The films will screen at Pacific Place 11, The Varsity in the University District & Thornton Place 14 in Seattle and Lincoln Square Cinemas in Bellevue. All screenings at  12:55pm in the afternoon. Here are the titles and dates. Please note that some screenings will be dubbed and others will be with subtitles. “Grave of the Fireflies” is August 12 (dubbed), August 13 (subtitled) and August 15 (dubbed). “My Neighbor Totoro” is Sept. 30 (dubbed), Oct. 1 (subtitled) and Oct. 3 (subtitled). “Spirited Away” is Oct. 28 (dubbed), Oct. 29 (subtitled) and Oct. 30 (subtitled). “Castle in the Sky” is Nov. 18 (dubbed), Nov. 19 (subtitled) and Nov. 30 (dubbed).

SIFF Cinema Uptown continues to screen films now in regular distribution that were part of their recently concluded SIFF International Film Festival. Opening August 17, 2018 is “Puzzle” which stars Kelly McDonald as a suburban housewife whose unexpected talent at solving crossword puzzles unlocks passions when she partners with a competitive puzzle champion played by Irrfan Khan (“The Lunchbox”). Prominent Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda returns with an engrossing courtroom drama starring Masaharu Fukuyama as a prominent defense attorney who is stumped by his murder suspect client (Koji Yakusho) who has already confessed but keeps changing his story. Opens August 24, 2018. SIFF Uptown Cinemas is at 511 Queen Anne Ave. N.  Across town at the SIFF Egyptian on Nov. 17, 2018 will be a free one-time screening of Studio Ghibli’s “Ponyo” in which a five-year old boy develops a relationship with a goldfish princess. This film is presented in partnership with Delta Dental. Although it is free, you must RSVP to get a ticket. SIFF Egyptian Theatre is at 805 E. Pine St. 206-464-5830 for general information or email [email protected].

Japanese “anime” director Masaaki Yuasa (“Mind Game”, “Lu Over The Wall”) is back with a new feature-length animated comedy entitled “The Night is Short, Walk On Girl” about a young woman’s single, epic, surreal night in Kyoto all the while unaware of another fellow student’s romantic longings for her. Also screening with a short interview with the director. Screens locally at various Puget Sound  theatres. Screens on Tuesday, August 21 and Wed., August 22 at 7pm. Go to www.NightIsShort.com for details.

It’s not too early to start contemplating another visual feast of films from South Asia. Tasveer South Asian Film Festival celebrates its 13^th year with a 10 day festival of films and forums on the South Asian diaspora with a spotlight on Pakistan and the theme of “# Know Me” which asks the audience and filmmakers to challenge narratives and assumptions about South Asia. The festival screens over 60 films from Sept. 28 – Oct. 7, 2018 around the Puget Sound in Seattle, Bellevue, Bothell, Redmond and Renton. For more information, 206-349-4478 or try tasveer.org or filmfreeway.com.

POV is public television’s premier showcase for nonfiction films since 1988. This year, they acquired “Minding the Gap”, a coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown as they go through issues of masculinity, racial identity, domestic abuse and their transition to adulthood. Directed by Bing Liu, the film won a Special Jury Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film will finish out the 31^st season of POV in 2019. The series has just started on most PBS stations. All films will  stream  concurrently with broadcast on pov.org and on streaming devices.

Sandra Oh, best known for her recurring role in the TV series “Grey’s Anatomy” has become the first woman of Asian descent to be nominated for an Emmy in the category of “Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series” for her portrayal of an M15 officer on the trail of a merciless hit woman in “Killing Eve.” Oh was born in Canada to Korean parents.

Shinobu Hashimoto, noted screenwriter of films by Akira Kurosawa, Masaki Kobayashi and Yoshitaro Nomura died at the age of 100 at the end of July, 2018. He will be remembered for the films he worked on such as “Rashomon”, “Seven Samurai”, “Ikiru”, “Throne of Blood”, “The Hidden Fortress”, “Dodes’ka-den”, “Hara-kiri”, “Samurai Rebellion”, “The Castle of Sand” and “Village of Eight Gravestones” and many more. His memoir on Kurosawa entitled “Compound Cinematics – Akira Kurosawa and I” (Vertical, Inc.) was translated into English by Lori Hitchcock Morimoto and published in 2006.

Roger Garcia, Director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival has received the “Chevalier de l’Ordre des arts et des Lettres” from the French government in recognition of his constant support to the development of cultural cooperation between France and Hong Kong.

The Written & Spoken Arts

“Minidoka Memories: The Untold Stories From the Yoshito Fujii Files.” Local author Ken Mochizuki presents the experiences of Yoshito Fujii, the elected Chair of the Community Council at the Minidoka War Relocation Center during WWII. He is joined by Fujii’s daughter, Irene Mano. Books will be available for sale. On Thursday, August 2 at 6:30pm. At the Wing located at 719 S. King St. 206-623-5124 or go to [email protected].

Open Books has the following events – A group reading with terrific poets Margaret Rhee, Claudia Castro Luna, Cathy Linh Che and Shankar Narayan on August 4 at 6:30pm.  A group reading from the 2018 BAX anthology, the 2018 “Best American Experimental Writing” takes place on August 25 at 7pm. With Don Mee Choi, Sarah Dowling and Nicole McCarthy. Sept. 22, 2018 at 7pm is a group reading from “They Said: A Multi-Genre Anthology of Contemporary Collaborative Writing.” Includes IE contributing writer/poet Michael Schmeltzer who joins a talented group of other writers. Poet/scholar Amaranth Borsuk interviews poet Don Mee Choi and poet/editor Joshua Beckman. Choi is a Whiting Award-winner and author of “Hardly War” and “The Morning News is Exciting,” Beckman is the editor-in-chief of the highly respected independent poetry press, Wave Books. He is also the author of “The Lives of the Poems”, “Three Talks” and “The Inside of an Apple.” August 9 at 7pm.  Open Books is a poetry only bookstore located in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood at 2414 N. 45^th St. 206-633-0811 or try [email protected].

“Scribes at The Henry” is a two week session for grades 9 – 12 with field trips, writing activities, craft exercises and exposure to a diverse range of genres, forms and writers takes place August 6, 2018. With poet/writers Karen Finneyfrock and Jane Wong.1021 Columbia St 206-322-7030 or try [email protected].

The University Book Store presents Kazu Kibuishi talking about his latest fantasy graphic novel entitled “Super Nova (Amulet #8)” on September 25  at 7pm at University Temple United Methodist Church.  A $24.99 ticket admits the family and includes one copy of the book. Advance tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets. 1415 43^rd St. 206-632-5163.

If you missed Mayumi Tsutakawa’s talk on her family’s local history and the Japanese American internment  entitled “The Pine and the Cherry: Japanese Americans in Washington” recently at the Schack Art Center, you have a second chance. She reprises this talk on August 26 at 2pm at Mason County Historical Society Museum in Shelton. 427 W. Railroad Ave. 360-426-1020.

Elliott Bay Book Company continues to sponsor readings in their Capitol Hill bookstore as well as co-producing events all over the city. Below you will find a partial listing of some of their events. Events are at the bookstore located at 1521 Tenth Ave. unless otherwise noted. 206-624-6600. Denver-based poet Diana Khi Nguyen reads from her striking debut poetry collection entitled “Ghost Of” which looks at a family riven by history, exile and loss (her brother committed suicide). It was selected for publication by noted poet /juror Terrence Hayes. Joining Nguyen will be fellow poets Ryo Yamaguchi and Prageeta Sharma. Yamaguchi, a recent Seattle transplant reads from “The Refusal of Suitors” (Noemi Press) and Sharma who teaches at the University of Montana reads from “Undergloom” (Fence Books). On Sunday, August 5 at 6pm at the bookstore. Filipino American cartoonist Kate Gavino is here on Thurs., August 30 at 7pm to talk about her new graphic novel “Sanpaku” (Archaia). In it, a 12 year-old Filipino American girl becomes fascinated with a Japanese idea that seeing white around the iris of your eyes is a bad omen. Inspired by her immigrant family experience living in the suburbs of Houston in the 1990’s. Novelist Preti Taneja reads from “We That Are Young” (Knopf) on Sept. 24 at 7pm at the bookstore. In this book, a family saga plays out as the young siblings of a family company are locked in a power struggle that spans palaces, slums and luxary resorts all over India. Join Co-editor Frank Abe and contributors Shawn Wong and Stephen Sumida in a talk and discussion with Tom Ikeda of Densho about a new anthology entitled “John Okada – The Life &  Rediscovered Work Of The Author of NO-NO Boy” (UW Press) edited by Frank Abe, Greg Robinson, and Floyd Cheung. This event billed as “John Okada: a Celebration And Book Launch” takes place on Sept. 22, 2018 at 2pm at Seattle Central Public Library (Microsoft Auditorium) where Okada once worked as a reference librarian. 1000 4^th Ave. in downtown Seattle. 206-386-4636 or go to www.spl.org. Editor Arjun Singh Sethi will discuss “American Hate: Survivors Speak Out” (The New Press) on  Sept. 27 at 7pm also at Seattle Central Public Library’s Microsoft Auditorium. This new collection features interview with immigrants in America who have been victims of hatred and racial prejudice before and after Donald Trump was elected President.   Nicole Chung talks about her memoir about being a Korean adoptee entitled “All You Can Never Know” at the Microsoft Auditorium in the Seattle Central Public Library on Oct. 4 at 7pm. South Korean fiction writer Kim Sagwa will appear on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7pm with local translators Bruce & Ju-Chan Fulton to read from her translated English debut, “Mina” (Two Lines Press). The book is a portrait of three Korean teenagers trapped in the grip of middle class affluence and Western cultural hegemony with no place to escape. Also on the bill is local poet/translator Dom Mee Choi. This event takes place at the book store.

Hugo House, that venerated Northwest center for writers and poets re-opens in brand-new digs with expanded space but in the same location. Catch the following readings and celebrate their new space.  Former Hugo House writer-in-residence Sonora Jha hosts “South Asian Writers of the Pacific Northwest” which features Jordan Alam, Sasha Duttchoudhury, Jasleena Grewal and Shankar Narayan. Sept. 27 at 7pm.  Bay Area poet/musician P. C. Munoz performs his sound/text performance of “Half-Breed” which explores historical and contemporary perceptions of multiracial people and mixed-race identity. Seattle writer Sharon H. Chang opens. Oct. 22, 2018 at 7pm. 1631 – 11^th Ave.

The Gardner Center’s Saturday University Series presents UW Professor Haicheng Wang who will speak on “Performing Arts of Asia” on Sept. 29, 2018 at 10am at Seattle Art Museum. Wang received a 2017 New Directions Fellowship from the Mellon Foundation. He specializes in the art and archaeology of Ancient China with a particular interest in Chinese musical culture and its use of bells.1300 First Ave. 206-654-3210 or go to vistsam.org/tickets.

One finds it hard to keep up with the steady stream of new titles coming out even in the limited categories of works by or about Asian Americans and new titles on Asia but here’s a recent sampling. Please contact me if anyone is interested in reviewing any of the below titles for the International Examiner. Thanks! –

Arcadia Publishing presents a new history book in their “Images of America” series entitled “Minidoka National Historic Site” by Hanako Wakatsuki, Mia Russell and Carol Ash. An exploration of the history of this internment camp that imprisoned 13, 000 American citizens and legal resident aliens of Japanese ancestry from 1942 – 1945. Includes archival photographs with text. Published August 2018.

“NCRR: The Grassroots Struggle for Japanese American Redress and Reparations” (UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press) by Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress is the first comprehensive exploration of NCRR’s roots, history and continuing impact over four decades. The book is based on first-hand accounts of the fight for redress. What emerges is a rich portrait of voices and narratives that illustrate how a popular, egalitarian, grassroots campaign for social justice blossom into a powerful voice for ordinary people and made the fight for redress a people’s campaign. Edited by Lane Ryo Hirabayashi and NCRR. Go to www.ncrr-la.org for ordering information.

“Dim Sum of All Fears” (Noodle Shop Mystery Book 2) by Vivien Chien is the second in a series of mystery novels that take place in a Chinese suburban shopping mall. On St. Martin’s paperbacks. Out August 2018.

“Immigrant, Montana” (Knopf) is the latest novel by Amitava Kumar in which a young South Asian immigrant man learns some painful truths about exile, grad school and sex in a new country he has come to call his home.

“High-Tech Housewives-Indian IT Workers, Gendered Labor, and Transmigration (UW Press) by Amy Bhatt. Looks at these workers and their struggles to navigate career paths, citizenship, and belonging as they move between South Asia and the United States.

“Takashi Murakami, Lineage of Eccentrics, A collaboration with Nobuo Tsuji And The Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston” (MFA) is the exhibition catalog for a show that shows the roots of contemporary Japanese artist Murakami go back far and are inspired by eccentric Japanese artists from another era as pointed out by a noted Japanese art critic.

“The Court Dancer” (Pegasus Books) is the latest novel by Kyung-Sook Shin (“Please Look After Mom”) based  on the true story of an orphan living in the final years of the Korean empire and her life at court until she is swept away by the love of a French diplomat to live in France. But homesickness and her eventual return to Korea lies fraught with tragedy.

“A Thousand Beginnings And Endings: 15 Retellings Of Asian Myths And Legends” (Greenwillow) edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman. The editors invite acclaimed Asian American authors (including Melissa de la Cruz, Renee Ahdieh and Julie Kagawa) to reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.

“Super Simple Sumi-e – Easy Asian Brush Painting for All Ages” (Little Bigfoot) by Yvonne Palka breaks down this Asian painting tradition for kids and adults alike in a way they can understand and begin to have fun with this method of painting.

“Isako Isako” (Alice James) by former UW graduate student/poet Mia Ayumi Malhorta traces a single family lineage spanning four generations of cultural trauma – internment, mass displacement and rampant racism – in the U.S., and how it weaves together with current events.

“All That I Can Fix” (Simon & Schuster) by Crystal Chan is a young adult novel that weaves together an intense and complicated story that tackles issues as diverse as race, gun control, mental health, the new media and animal activism based on an exotic zoo outbreak in Ohio in 2011.

“Soseki – Modern Japan’s Greatest Novelist” (Columbia) by John Nathan is a vibrant portrayal of the transformation of a modern Japan as witnessed through the story of one of that country’s best writers.

“The Science Of Breakable Things” (Random House) by Tae Keller is a young adult novel about a high school girl who must navigate school while at the same time worrying about a mother suffering from depression at home.

“Daido Moriyama – Record” (Thames & Hudson)

Edited by Mark Holborn. This modern Japanese photographer has a “shaky-blurry” style that explores photography as a kind of performance within itself. It served as the perfect foil to capture the change in Japan as seen through its political protests to its avant-garde dance performances. This carefully edited book is culled from the photographer’s many little magazines published throughout the years.

“Ba-chan – The Ninja Grandma, An Adventure with Little Kunoichi the Ninja Girl” (Little Bigfoot) by Sanae Ishida is a continuation of this popular picture book series in which we learn about the Ninja Girl’s grandmother who is in turns wise, creative and eccentric. The charming artwork highlights this adventure for kids.

“Rich People Problems” (Anchor Books) by Kevin Kwan is the third  and final installment of his fictional series now all in paperback that started with “Crazy Rich Asians” (soon to be a major motion picture) and continued with “China Rich Girlfriend”. This satiric series looks at the lives of the rich and famous Singaporean Chinese who jet from Shanghai to Manila and back in a quest for money and status.

“Young Frances”(Adhouse Books) by Hartley Lin is a graphic novel that looks at the meaning of work within a corporate culture and the finesse required by his female protagonist to exist in such an environment.

“Unnamable-The Ends of Asian American Art” (NYU Press) by Susette Min challenges the notion of Asian American art as a site of reconciliation for marginalized artists to enter into the canon.

“Suicide Club – A Novel About Living” (Henry Holt) by Rachel Heng is a life-affirming book about death which makes you look closer at how you live your life. The author hails from Singapore.

“Barbara Takenaga” (Delmonico / Prestel Books) is an exhibition catalog for a show of this artist’s work curated by Debra Bricker Balken at Williams College of Art. Obsessed with dots, these vertiginous patterns allude to other worlds – the night sky, the cosmos, and the depths and swells of the sea.

“Being Muslim – A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam” (NYU Press) by Sylvia Chan-Malik maps how communities of American Muslims became sites of safety, support, spirituality, and social activism, and how women of color were central to their formation.

“Convenience Store Woman” (Grove Atlantic) is a novel by Sayaka Murata as translated by Ginny Tapley. It tells the story of a thirty-something Japanese single woman who has never fit in until she begins working at a chain convenience store. This dark comedy looks at work and the pressure to conform.

“Our Story – A Memoir of Love And Life In China” (Pantheon) by Rao Pingru is a graphic memoir illustrated by the author in charming color sketches. It celebrates a marriage that spanned the twentieth century in China. The author penned this book when he was eighty-seven as a way of mourning the loss of his life’s companion.

“The Serpent’s Secret – Kiranmala And The Kingdom Beyond” (Scholastic) by Sayantani Dasgupta is a fantasy novel about a New Jersey Indian teenager who finds her parents have vanished and how she must accept her destiny as an Indian princess if she has any chance of saving her mom and dad.

“How to Reach Japan by Subway – America’s Fascination With Japanese Culture, 1945-1965” (Nebraska)  by Meghan Warner Mettler. This book explains why and how Americans found themselves embracing Japanese culture after WWII.

“My First Mandarin in Words With Gordon & Li Li” (Scholastic) by Michele Wong McSween. A pair of charming  pandas teach your kids how to learn Mandarin in this colorful, easy-to-use language book.

“Someone to Talk To” (Duke University Press) is a novel by Liu Zhenyun as translated by Howard Goldblatt & Sylvia Li-chun Lin. It is a generational novel of loss and miscommunication in a Chinese village.

“Monsters, Animals, And Other Worlds – A Collection of Short Medieval Japanese Tales” (Columbia) edited by Keller Kimbrough and Haruo Shirane brings twenty-five tales of the fantastic and supernatural to entertain and chill Western readers.

“The Way You Make Me Feel” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) by Maureen Goo is a young adult novel. The care-free summer a teenage girl envisions is shattered when she is forced to work next to her dad and her worst enemy in a Korean-Brazilian food truck instead of staying with her mom. Yet somehow, things have a way of working out.

“Naoya Hatakeyama – Excavating the Future City” (Aperture) is the first English language survey of this Japanese photographer by Yasufumi Nakamori, Toyo Ito and Philippe Forest. It examines his work and how he sees architecture not as a moment of completion but about the totality of time and space extending throughout the processes of design, construction, completion and utilization.

“Words on Edge” (Black Square Editions) by poet Michael Leong. Working at a necessary and constantly evolving counter intuition – uneasy, agitated, restless and ceaselessly inventive, this book clocks the alarm of those who “wake late” in a world of fragments and found materials.

Southeast Asia – A Very Short Introduction” (Oxford) by James R. Rush traces the history of a varied region in easy-to-grasp analysis that accommodates its ethnic, religious and political complexities.

“The Invisible Valley” (Small Beer Press) by Su Wei as translated by Austin Woerner. When a young Chinese man is sent to the countryside for agricultural re-education, he encounters an outcast polyamorous family of woodcutters in extreme circumstances. This lyrical fable looks at the shapes into which human affection can be pressed in extreme circumstances.

“Eye Level” (Graywolf) is Jenny Xie’s debut book of poetry. The apt title brings us a poet with a sensitive eye that surveys the world in intimate detail as it and the observer continually change. Winner of  the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets.

“American Panda” (Simon & Schuster) is the debut young adult novel by Gloria Chao. It tells the story of Mei Lu whose life seems planned out until in college, she sees things change. Forced to confront the secrets around her, she learns powerful lessons about family, love and staying true to yourself.

“Meet Yasmin!” (Capstone) by Saadia Faruqi and illustrated by Hatem Aly looks at the adventures of a  bright, intelligent young girl and her multi-generational Pakistani American family.

“Go Home!” (Feminist Press) is an anthology of new writing that looks at the theme of home as explored by a variety of Asian American writers. Edited by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan with a foreword by Vet Thanh Nguyen.

“Warlight” (Knopf) by Michael Ondaatje is a new novel by the acclaimed Canadian author set in London during the WWII blackouts. A brother and sister are left in the care of kindhearted criminals in their rooming house after their parents disappear.

“The Emissary” (new Directions) by Yoko Tawada. A novel of the not-too-distant future of a post-Fukushima time where children are born so weak they can barely walk and the elderly are the only ones with get-go. Tawada focuses on a boy, who despite his frailties radiates hope.

“God – A Human History” (Random House) by Reza Aslan looks at how through the ages, humans have made God in their own image.

“Waiting For Tomorrow” by Nathacha Appanah (Graywolf) looks at an immigrant family in France and investigates the life of an artist, cultural differences in a marriage and the creation/destruction of a family.

“The Golden Legend” (Vintage) by Nadeem Aslam is a novel that looks at Pakistan’s past and future influenced by corruption, resilience, love, terror and the disguises necessary for survival.

“Registers of Illuminated Villages” (Graywolf) by Bangladeshi American poet Tarfia Faizullah transverses the globe and brings readers poems that illuminate acts of resistance in the face of injustice and violence.

“All You Can Ever Know” (Catapault) is a memoir by Nicole Chung who was placed for adoption by her Korean parents and how she finds her identity by tracing the path through which she came into the world.

“Rabbit Moon” (Arthur A. Levine) by author/illustrator Jean Kim tells the story of the rabbit in the moon who gets so lonely that he floats down to earth to have some fun. Inspired by Korean folklore.

“Spitfire Singh: A True Life of Relentless Adventure” (Osprey) by Mike Edwards tells the extraordinary story of Harjainder Singh who helped found the 4^th largest air force in the world.

“The Anime Ecology – A Genealogy of Television, Animation And Game Media” (Minnisota) by Thomas Lamarre. This book looks at how animation helps us think through television in the contemporary moment using exhaustive research and impressive scope to make an essential reference book on this subject for both scholars and students alike.

“Kathmandu (Haus)” by Thomas Bell is a comprehensive book and a rich history of one of the greatest cities of the Himalaya.

“Hawk of the Mind – Collected Poems of Yang Mu” (Columbia) as translated by Michelle Yeh. Mu is a towering figure in modern Chinese poetry and this volume of his work presents his reverence for classical Chinese poetry while remaining rooted in his native Taiwan and its colonial history. His subtle, lyrical voice  is smoothly translated by Yeh.

“The Mirror Diary – Selected Essays” (University of Michigan Press) by Northwest poet Garrett Hongo  and Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Oregon. It gathers together the poet’s essays which combine influences of complex literary traditions and regional and ethnic histories.

“Saturday Is Swimming Day” (Candlewick) by Hye Won Yum. In this charming picture book, a little girl overcomes her trepidation about learning to swim with the help of various special friends.

“Experimental Beijing – Gender and Globalization in Chinese Contemporary Art” (Duke) by Sasha Su-Ling Welland. This UW professor examines the changing status of experimental artists in China who once struggled against government regulations of artistic expression and who now are being counted on by the state to advance China’s international image.

“May in America” (China Books) is a new novel by Annie Wang that tells the story of a Chinese rich kid who has outgrown Beijing and comes to California for a new, exciting life. What she finds instead are entangled relationships, suffering and loss. In the end, our heroine must cut all ties to find her way to redemption.

“Ordinary Misfortunes” (Tupelo) by Emily Jungmin Yoon chronicles the lives of the “comfort women”, those Korean young girls forced to be sex slaves for the invading Japanese army during WWII. These poems balance narrative, history and violence with a lyrical, truth-telling vision.

“The Third Degree – The Triple Murder That Shook Washington and Changed American Criminal Justice” (Potomac) by Scott O. Seligman provides the human story behind a seminal supreme court decision based on a young Chinese man accused of murdering three diplomats in Washington D.C. It is a case that sparked the creation of our Miranda rights.

“Girls of Paper and Fire” (Little Brown) by Natasha Ngan is a young adult novel about a lower caste girl forced into the oppressive limelight of the king’s palace, only to fall in love and seek a path that holds out hope for her freedom. Set for October, 2018 release.

“The Undressing” (Norton) is the long-awaited new book of poetry by award-winning poet Li Young Lee. A tonic for spiritual anemia, this new collection of poems attempts to uncover things  hidden since the dawn of the world.

“Straight A’s – Asian American College Students in Their Own Words” (Duke) edited by  Christine R. Yano & Neal K. Adolph Akatsuka. Asian American students at Harvard reflect on their common experiences with discrimination, immigrant communities, their relationships to their heritage and their place in the University. Due out August, 2018.

“Record of Regret” (Oklahoma) by Dong Xi as  translated by Dylan Levi King. Set in the wake of China’s Cultural Revolution, this novel follows the trials and tribulations of a Chinese man from his youth to his adulthood as he tries to find his place in an upside down world.

“In “GO”, novelist  Kazuki Kaneshiro confronts ethnicity and discrimination in Japanese society in a story of a Korean student in a Japanese high school who falls hopelessly in love with a Japanese girl. When he confesses his true identity, will he and his girl friend willingly embark on a new and harrowing journey together? Translated by Seattle instructor Takami Nieda who teaches writing and literature at Seattle Central Community College.

“Bijoux in the Dark” (Letter Machine Editions) by John Yau veers from satire, ekphrasis and homage to imagined histories, surreal dimensions and Egyptology. Along the way, politicians, artists, actors and poets populate a rich and varied, poetic landscape. A word acrobat from the quirky to the profound, Yau is the author of more  than 50 books of poetry, criticism and fiction.

“Ninja – Unmasking The Myth” (Casemate) by Stephen Turnbull seeks to de-mystify the image of this mysterious figure in Japanese history using original Japanese sources including the last great ninja manual which reveals the spiritual and religious ideals believed to be lying behind the nina’s arts.

“Circles and Circuits – Chinese Carribean Art” (The Chinese American Museum) edited by Alexandra Chang examines the artistic production of Chinese artists in Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica and Panama where large immigrant populations and political, economic, and socio-cultural conditions enabled the development of  rich art practices in the Chinese diasporic community. An exhibition catalog that accompanied an exhibition of the same name that was exhibited  in Log Angeles.

“Hawker Fare – Stories & Recipes from a Refugee Chef’s Isan Thai & Lao Roots” (Anthony Bourdain/Ecco) by James Syhabout with John Birdsall tells a unique family history and the food of N.E. Thailand and Laos. The author initially turns away from his heritage to become a classically trained chef in Europe, only to find something still missing. The hole isn’t filled until he re-traces the food of his childhood.

“Hazel And Twig – The Birthday Forutne” (Candlewick) by Brenna Burns Yu provides a charming introduction to Korean first-birthday traditions in this delightful children’s picture book story of two sisters with big dreams.

“Dust and Other Stories” (Columbia) by Yit’ Aejun as translated by Janet Poole restores the reputation of a Korean writer who went to Pyongyang in 1946. This book of short stories captures the precarious daily life of ordinary Koreans under post-war occupation.

“The Chinese Must Go – Violence, Exclusion, and the Making of the Alien in America” (Harvard University Press) by Beth Lew-Williams. In this book, the authors traces anti-Chinese violence in the American West and shows how American immigration policies incited this violence and how it provoked new exclusion and how this exclusion produced the concept of the “alien” in modern America.

“Goong-Goong – From Tuscany to Shanghai – The Story of a Chinese Patriarch Through the Eyes of His Italian Daughter-in-law” (Long River Press) by Patrizia Chen. In the end, it’s left up to the Italian American daughter-in-law to tease out the details of the history of this Chinese American family by interviewing her reluctant, taciturn father-in-law.

“Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods” (Copper Canyon) by Tishani Doshi is a third volume of poetry by this South Asian poet that confronts the violence against women. Her resonant, lyrical voice speaks out for those who have endured abuse, and those who have been permanently silenced. Due out October, 2018.

“Fukushima Devil Fish” (Breakdown) by Katsumata Susumu as translated by Ryan Holmberg and edited by Asakama Mitsuhiro is a collection of critical and biographical essays in a graphic novel style by this late, legendary Japanese alternative manga figure. His is known as the most prolific producer of cartoons directed against nuclear power even prior to the Fukushima nuclear meltdown.

“Patriot Number One – American Dreams in Chinatown” (Crown) by Lauren Hilgers. A journalist offers a story of the newly arrived Chinese immigrants and a look at the Chinese community in Flushing, New York which is one of the fastest-growing immigrant enclaves in the U.S.

In “People Like Us: The New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy’s Door” (The New Press), political scientist Sayu Bhojwani shares stories of a diverse and persevering range of local and state politicians across the country who are challenging the status quo and paving the road for other people of often forgotten demographics to follow in their wake. Due out Oct., 2018 just in time for our fall elections.

“Looking Like The Enemy – Japanese Mexicans, the Mexican State, and US Hegemony, 1897 – 1945” (University of Arizona) by Jerry Garcia takes a penetrating look at the history of Japanese migration to Mexico and compares it to other immigration histories in the North/South hemisphere.

Alexander Chee is one of the most loved novelists of his generation but in his latest offering, he returns to nonfiction in “How To Write An Autobiographical Novel” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). In a series of essays, he presents memoir-in-essays about his growing up, his father’s death, the AIDS crisis, 9/11 and the odd jobs that kept him afloat so that he could continue to write.

“Pious Fashion – How Muslim Women Dress”  (Harvard University Press) by Elizabeth Bucar. This book looks at young Muslim women and offers first-person observations from the stores and streets of three cities in Muslim-majority countries on the varied ways they dress and the choices made.

“Not Here” (Coffee House Press) by Hieu Minh Nguyen looks at the poetic voice of a queer Vietnamese American and his confrontation with whiteness, trauma, family and nostalgia.

“Painting Peace: Art in a Time of Global Crisis” (Shambhala) by Kazuaki Tanahashi. This revered modern artist and Zen teacher offers his story about how his art has been the expression of a life of social activisim.

“The Night Diary” (Dial) by Veera Hiranandan is a young adult novel that looks at the 1947 partition of India through a child’s eyes as she searches for home, her own identity and a hopeful future.

“Quiet Girl in A Noisy World” (Andrews McMeel) by Debbie Tung. This graphic novel reveals the experiences of an introvert in an extrovert’s world. It follows her from college to navigating the real world. Along the way she learns to embrace her introversion and find ways to thrive in life while still fulfilling her need for quiet.

“Valmikis Ramayama: An Illustrated Retelling (Rowan & Littlefield) by Arshia Sattar. This writer retells a classic Indian epic for children by building her characters from the inside out. She makes this fable of good over evil, family relationships, love & loss, duty & honor, jealousy & ambition into a vital story for contemporary times.

“The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore” (HMH) by Kim Fu follows a group of young girls at summer camp and what it takes for them to survive when stranded and how that experience reverberates through the rest of their lives.

Muralist and community artist Katie Yamasaki celebrates the cultural diversity of her family in “When the Cousins Came” (Holiday House), a delightful picture book on the fun that ensues when city kids visit their country cousins.

“Rainbirds” (Soho) by Clarissa Goenawan is a genre-bending novel that moves from mystery to magic realism and tells the story of a family and loss. The author is an Indonesian-born Singaporean writer.

“This Is My Eye – A New York Story” (Candlewick Press) by Neela Vaswani uses the lens of photography to view how a young girl sees this vital city from rooftops, on the ground and under the water.

One gets a look at celebrated Chinese writer Yu Hua’s early short stories in this collection entitled “The April 3^rd Incident” (Pantheon) slated for Nov., 2018 release. A tale of fractured realities in the mood of Kafka, these stories are surreal, thought provoking and darkly comic. A record of the changes going on in modern  Chinese literature in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

How does a family survive when the internet goes down? In “The Manic Panic” (Creston), Richa Jha and Mithila Ananth create a young heroine who shows the way.

“Killing Commendatore” (Knopf) is popular Japanese fiction writer Haruki Murakami’s latest offering. A portrait painter discovers a previously unseen painting in a famous artist’s attic which leads to a journey that must be completed. A story of love, loneliness, war and yes, a loving homage to “The Great Gatsby.”

“The Chinese Pleasure Book” (Zone) by Michael Nylan due out Oct., 2018 delves into ancient philosophy to provide modern readers with a theory of pleasure informed by writers and courtesans and poets from Chinese literary history.

“D is for Dragon Dance” (Holiday House) is a new reprint of a picture book by Ying Chang Compestine that uses letters of the alphabet to illuminate the joyful elements of the new year as richly portrayed by artist YongSheng Xuan.

“Hybrid Child” (Minnesota by Mariko Ohara as translated by Jodie Beck is a classic of Japanese speculative fiction that blurs the line between consumption and creation when a cyborg assumes the form and spirit of a murdered child. This is the first English translation of a major work of science fiction by a female Japanese author.

“Imperial Twilight – The Opium War And The End of China’s Last Golden Age” (Knopf) by Stephen R. Platt. The author looks at one of the most potent turning points in that country’s modern history and how it set the path towards nationalism and communism in the twentieth century.

“Natsumi” (Penguin Young Readers) by Susan Landroth and illustrated by Priscilla Burris traces the life of a curious, rambunctious Japanese girl who does everything in a big way. Can she find the right way to put her exuberance to good use?

“Though I Get Home” (Feminist Press) by YZ Chen is a book of short stories that consider what it means to find one’s own voice within systems committed to suppressing it. Using her native Malaysia as a backdrop, the author fills her book with characters who must re-invent themselves to survive and be true to their own muse.

“The Barber’s Dilemma And Other Stories From Man Maru Street” (Tara Books) by Koki Oguma as translated by Gita Wolf. In this picture book, the author/illustrator shows us the neighborhood he lives in around Tokyo as he watches people go about their business. Zany, imaginative artwork makes the streets come alive.

“Van Gogh And Japan” (Yale) is the exhibition catalog for a show that delves into how deeply this Dutch artist was inspired by Japanese art as shown at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam recently.

Angela Garbes, former food writer for The Stranger became a mother and has a new book out entitled “Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy” (Harper Wave). She’s interviewed about it in the May 2018 issue of CityArts.

“The Perfect Gift” (Lee & Low) by Paula Yoo and illustrated by Shirley Ng-Benitez is a children’s book in which a girl searches for the perfect gift to celebrate her little brother’s 100-days birthday.

“Sunzi – The Art of War” (Princeton) by C. C. Tsai is a cartoonist who has spent his career bringing Chinese classics to life and modernizing them yet straying true to the essence of each story. He does this again with this ancient book on warfare and strategy still consulted by those in the know.

“Modern Ink – The Art of Wu Changshi” (Mozhai Foundation & UH Press) by Britta Erickson and Craig L. Yee is Volume 3 in a series on Chinese brush painting. Wu Chang Shi rejected both Western themes and the glorified past to forge his own rough-hewn style from engravings in stone and metal by anonymous artisans who lived in remote areas.

“Sanpaku” (Archaia) by Kate Gavino gives voice to the insecurities that abound in teens of all cultures. A graphic novel done  in somber black and white.

“Preserving Historical & Cultural Treasures – Hmong Story Cloths” (Schiffer) by Linda A. Gerdner provides a visual documentation of the historical and cultural legacy of the Hmong people from Laos.

“Ocean Meets Sky” (Simon & Schuster) by Eric Fan & Terry Fan is a stunning picture book about a young boy who sets sail to find a place his grandfather once told him about.

“Mixed – A Colorful Story” (Henry Holt) is a kids picture book  by Arree Chung that uses the simple motif of colors fighting for power and how a never-before-seen color saves the day by bringing peace and harmony as a life lesson.

“Sick – A Memoir” (Harper Perennial) by Porochista Khakpour takes readers along on her struggles towards health. Intelligently written, this is a powerfully rendered memoir of chronic illness, misdiagnosis, addiction, and the myth of full recovery.

“Moon – Letters, Maps, Poems” (Tarpaulin Sky Press) by poet Jennifer S. Cheng. This book mixes fable and fact and draws on various Chinese mythologies about women. Inquiry as art.

“Amal Unbound” (Nancy Paulsen) is a young adult novel about indentured servitude and how a young girl struggles to become educated and free against all odds.

News/Opportunities

Dancer, model, stylist and freelance creative producer Jessica Hu is profiled in the “Lifestyle” page of the August 2018 issue of CityArts. IE contributing writer Clarissa Gines of CultureShock Collective with Rose Mathison, filmmaker Masuhiro Sugano and performance artist Anida Yoeu Ali also get a mention in the cover story on Tacoma’s art scene entitled “City In Flux” by Margo Vansynghel.

ACRS celebrates 10 years with an Open House on August 23, 2018 from 4 – 7:30pm. Artists who contributed to the ACRS permanent art collection are especially welcome. Please RSVP on the website https://acrs.org/acrs-open-house/.

Friends of Asian Art Association is an all-volunteer organization that connects its members and the community to educations, cultural and social events tied to Asia and its diverse art forms and culture. Enjoy year-round activities and meet new friends who share similar interests by becoming a member. All are welcome to the activities but members get special discounts and perks.

Congratulations to the following artists who got 2018 Artist Trust Fellowships. Cathy Linh Che and Diana  Xin in the “Literary” category. Christopher Icasiano in the “Music” category. Haruko “Crow” Nishimura in the “Performance” category  and Taiji Miyasaka in the “Visual Arts” category. Artist Trust offers workshops state-wide and webinar workshops on topics of interest to artists of all genres such as assistance on how to apply for a GAP Grant,  resources on how to get to know local arts organizations, cultivating professional relationships, organizing your resume and much more.  Upcoming events include the following – “ABNS: Promotional Fundamentals” in Seattle Sept. 6 – Oct. 11, 2018. “ABNS: Business Fundamentals Oct. 15 – Nov. 5, 2018 in Seattle. Branding for Artists on Instagram” Sept. 19 from 7 – 9pm in Seattle. “Webinar: Appliying for a 2018 La Salle Storyteller Award on August 15, 2018. “Office Hours”, a free grant writing support program for all artists (20 minutes) in person at the Artist Trust office or via phone. August 13 & 20 and Sept. 5, 2018. Artist Trust can be found at 1835 – 12^th Ave. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill or go to artisttrust.org for more details.

Hawai’i-based journalist Heidi Chang took first place for “Feature Reporting” from the Society of Professional Journalists, Hawaii Chapter for her radio story on Tyrus Wong (“Chinese American Artist Broke Barriers, Reached Back Centuries to Create Bambi”) that aired on Voice of America. For details, go to http://www.hawaiispj.org.

“American Muslims: An Anthology of Contemporary Writing” as edited by Kazim Ali will be published by Red Hen Press. Send poetry (5 – 10 poems) or prose (no more than 3,000 words) to Kazim Ali at [email protected] no later than Sept. 15, 2018.

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