Wakaji Matsumoto — An Artist in Two Worlds: Los Angeles and Hiroshima, 1917–1944

Online exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum



Wakaji Matsumoto — An Artist in Two Worlds: Los Angeles and Hiroshima, 1917–1944 is an online exhibition and public program about an artist and pioneer in Pictorialism who documented the lives of Japanese immigrant farmers in rural Los Angeles during the early 1900s and created rare images of urban life in Hiroshima prior to the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

The online exhibition, presented by the Japanese American National Museum, highlights rarely seen early photographs of Los Angeles prior to World War II and of Hiroshima before the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb through the single lens of photographer Wakaji Matsumoto.

"Wakaji Matsumoto's photographs of farms that were operated by Japanese Americans in the Los Angeles area demonstrate the difficult life of Japanese Americans and their resolve and resilience," says Dennis Reed, the curator of the exhibition. "His photographs of Hiroshima are the largest-known photographic archive of the city prior to the atomic bomb. Today, our knowledge of the city's horrific fate lends a pall of melancholy over these tender images. They bear the weight of history."

View the online exhibition here: janm.org/exhibits/wakaji-matsumoto

The Sikh Project

Portraits of Sikh American men and women explore the style and significance of the Sikh articles of faith.



New York! The Sikh Coalition invites you to The Sikh Project, the first-ever art exhibition exclusively featuring Sikh Americans. From acclaimed British photographers Amit and Naroop, the exhibition will feature 40 portraits of Sikh American men and women that explore the style and significance of the Sikh articles of faith.

The exhibition, which will be free to the general public, highlights generations of Sikh American history that embodies perseverance and progress as we commemorate the 15-year anniversary of 9/11. The Sikh Project will run September 17-25 at 530 Broadway in Manhattan.

Here are some more details about the exhibition:

Check the Senior Street Style of 'Chinatown Pretty'

Blog and photo exhibition inspired by the unique elder fashion of San Francisco's Chinatown.



Chinatown Pretty is a fashion and storytelling project chronicling the street style of seniors living (and grocery shopping) in San Francisco's Chinatown. Because dude, let's face it, these elders have got some serious style.

"We're here to celebrate the ingenuity, flair, and beauty of San Francisco Chinatown and its longtime residents," the blog declares. "Chinatown Pretty brings us joy and we hope it will put a smile on your face too."

Photographer Andria Lo and writer Valerie Luu, "two friends who love dim sum and chasing after pretty po-pos," say they were inspired to create the project while Luu was living in Chinatown, when she would see silver-haired seniors looking hella fresh, rocking their own unique fashions.

Asian Humans of New York

Guest Post by Minh-Ha T. Pham



I'm on vacation! This week, I'm taking a much-needed break to recharge the batteries and get a change of scenery. To keep things going around here, I've enlisted the help of several friends of the blog to submit guest posts on various topics of their choosing. Here's one from Minh-Ha T. Pham, author of 'Asians Wear Clothes on the Internet: Race, Gender, and the Work of Personal Style Bloggin.'

My guest post pays tribute to New York City, with a special focus on my home borough of Brooklyn. In it, I spotlight Asian New Yorkers in the fields of fashion, food, and photography. Here are their stories, told mostly in their own words. (All photos are used with permission and courtesy of the featured individuals unless otherwise noted.)

My Favorite Asian American Photographers

Guest Post by An Rong Xu


I'm on vacation! This week, I'm taking a much-needed break to recharge the batteries and get a change of scenery. To keep things going around here, I've enlisted the help of several friends of the blog to submit guest posts on various topics of their choosing. Here's one from photographer and filmmaker An Rong Xu.

Hi all, this is An Rong Xu, I'm a photographer, and film maker based in New York City. I'm a big believer in sharing, so I'm going to share with you, a few of my favorite Asian American Photographers, as well as why I love them.

Full disclosure: a few of them are good friends of mine. Also, these are my own views and opinions, so if you have any questions, comments, or want to tell me about the next great talent, holla at your boy.

Fund This: 'Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story'

Corky Lee has been chronicling the Asian American community with his camera for the last 40 years.



I recently heard about this cool film project, Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story, directed by Jennifer Takaki. It's a documentary on photographer Corky Lee, who has been chronicling the Asian American community with this camera for the last 40 years. He has been called, with good reason, the "undisputed unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate," and this documentary aims to tell the world why. Check out this video, which includes a glimpse of some of his photos: