Japanese
Canadian Photographers Community
Partners:
Japanese Canadian National Museum, Burnaby, BC
http://www.jcnm.ca
Project
Directors:
Grace Eiko Thomson, Japanese Canadian National Museum
Email: jcmas@telus.net
Dr. Phyllis Senese, Department of History, University of Victoria
Email: psenese@uvic.ca
Collaborator:
Dr. Patricia Roy, Department of History, University of Victoria
Student
Researchers:
Directed Studies: Erin Coulson, History in Art
Public Sector Youth Employment: Mathilde Belanger and Erin Coulson,
History in Art
UVic Arts and Writing Co-op: Erin Coulson, History in Art; Jenny
Uechi, English
Young Canada Works: Erin Coulson, History in Art
Grace Eiko Thomson and researchers from the University of Victoria
are examining three important collections of photographs taken
by Japanese Canadian photographers from the turn-of-the century
to 1942. These historical photographs give insight into Japanese
Canadians' lives and experiences in small districts of British
Columbia, as well as in Japantown in Vancouver. With material
information about this period almost nonexistent due to losses
incurred through the internment of Japanese Canadians in 1942,
these photographs are crucial economic and social records of the
early 20th century.
This CURA project is exploring the cultural and social lives of
Japanese Canadians during this period through representations
of race and class in the photographs. The researchers are examining
issues such as assimilation and exclusion, the aesthetic and technical
qualities of the photographs and the role of Japanese Canadian
photographers in Canadian society.
The project is expected to result in a book or catalogue, a traveling
exhibition, a virtual exhibition and opportunities for ongoing
student research. It will also provide material for the Museum
education resource kit used in BC schools' social studies and
arts curricula.
The partners and local collaborators of the project are the New
Westminster Museum and the Cumberland Museum where two of the
major collections are housed.
Photographs
in the Cumberland Museum Collection
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Happy
New Year |
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Funeral
of a Child |
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Three
Women |
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