Sunday, February 22
2-4 pm
FREE
Join us for a Day of Remembrance panel discussion with Dr. Ayumi Nagase and Dana Shew on “Topaz Toddlers: Children’s Art From an American Concentration Camp.”
The panelists will discuss the preschoolers’ artwork and the project that located nearly 30 of them, as well as background on preschool education at Topaz, analysis of the artwork from an early childhood education research perspective, and reflections and reactions from some of the “toddler” artists.
This panel discussion is paired with the “Topaz Toddlers” exhibit on display in the OACC Gallery 1, which showcases the art, stories, and history of preschoolers incarcerated at Utah’s WWII Japanese American incarceration camp, Topaz. A reception will follow the panel discussion.
The panel discussion and exhibition are sponsored by The Topaz Museum, The Takahashi Foundation, The Anthropological Studies Center at Sonoma State University, and The Koret Foundation. They are free to attend, but registration is requested at the link below.
PANELIST BIOGRAPHIES
Dr. Ayumi Nagase
Dr. Ayumi Nagase is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Studies at Sonoma State University. Originally from Kumamoto, Japan, she received her Ph.D. in Human Development from UC Berkeley after moving to the Bay Area. Her work focuses on advancing equity and access to high-quality care for children and families, especially concerning parents’ mental health issues in underrepresented communities. She has contributed to international and local research projects, including the Berkeley Parenting Self-Efficacy study and research on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected families and young children in Northern California.
Dana Ogo Shew
Dana Ogo Shew serves as an ASC Interpretive Specialist and Oral Historian and is a Certified Interpretive Planner (NAI) with over 12 years of experience in oral history and interpretation. She has completed projects for a wide range of clients that include the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Caltrans, California State Parks, the National Park Service, SFMTA, and the City of San Luis Obispo. Her work with Japanese-American history continues today through a variety of projects that range from oral history projects to exhibits to interpretive plans. She received her M.A. from the University of Denver, where she completed an archaeological thesis that explored the lives of women at Colorado’s WWII Japanese internment camp, Amache. In addition to her experience with these aspects of the recent past, Ms. Shew also has archaeological field experience associated with historic and prehistoric sites in California, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado.
