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# Honoring 50 Activists and Advocates at the Japanese American National Museum
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/transcendients-japanese-american-national-museum/
- Published: 2020-03-03T20:09:02.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:52:29.000Z
- Description: In conjunction with an exhibition on the immigrant experience, the museum hosts workshops ranging from a letter-writing session to paper crane folding and weaving lessons.
- Author: Matt Stromberg
- Tags: Art, California, Events, Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:41 (2019, 2020, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2020/03/transcendients-community-celebration.jpg)

Taiji Terasaki, “Reinterpreting Toyo Miyatake” (2019), Photographs, Digital Collage & Mist Technologies (Left); FandangObon performers (Center); Viet Thanh Nguyen photo by Bebe Jacobs (Right) (images courtesy JANM)

Taiji Terasaki’s exhibition [*Transcendients*](http://www.janm.org/exhibits/transcendients/?ref=hyperallergic.com)*,* currently on view at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), honors 50 activists and advocates, both well-known and unheralded, who challenge borders of all kinds: from physical barriers to issues of prejudice, discrimination, and inequality. Taking its name from the combination of “transcend” and “transient,” referencing the immigrant experience, the show features digital weavings, photographic collages, and projections on mist to create hybrid portraits of the activists and advocates.

In collaboration with the exhibition, JANM has organized a [free community celebration](http://www.janm.org/exhibits/transcendients/events/?ref=hyperallergic.com) at the museum this Saturday comprising performances, workshops, and panel discussions. “We’re interested in not just presenting art alone, but as an opportunity for dialogue and action,” exhibition curator Emily Anderson told Hyperallergic. “Community day is a way to invite the public to see the show, but also to draw out themes in really practical ways. It’s a way for people to talk to heroes about different aspects of civic engagement and giving back to the community.”

The event is anchored by a keynote presentation from author and USC professor [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://vietnguyen.info/?ref=hyperallergic.com), alongside LA-centric thematic discussions on food, arts activism, and human rights featuring KCRW’s Even Kleinman, “Gangsta Gardner” [Ron Finley](http://ronfinley.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), and [John Malpede](https://www.lapovertydept.org/lapd-history/john-bio/?ref=hyperallergic.com) of the LA Poverty Department. Workshops range from a letter-writing session with [Allies to End Detention](https://www.alliestoendetention.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com), to paper crane folding with Nikkei Progressives, and a weaving workshop with Marianne Sadowski. Entertainment will be provided throughout the day from [East LA Taiko](http://elataiko.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), Afro-Latino group [El Santo Golpe](https://www.elsantogolpe.net/?ref=hyperallergic.com), and DJ Betto Arcos. Closing out the event will be FandangObon, a participatory, community dance created by celebrated actress and dancer Nobuko Miyamoto that draws on Japanese, Mexican, and African American sources. 

**When:** Saturday, March 7, 11am–5pm  
**Where:** Japanese American National Museum (100 N. Central Ave, Downtown, Los Angeles)

*More info at* [*JANM*](http://www.janm.org/exhibits/transcendients/events/?ref=hyperallergic.com)*.*