Grace Eiko Thomson (born 1933) is an activist[1], curator[2][3][4], memoirist[5][6]and Japanese-Canadian internment camp survivor.[7][8]
Grace Eiko Thomson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eiko Nishikihama 1933 (age 90–91) |
| Nationality | Japanese-Canadian |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Curator, memoirist |
She is a founder of the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre[9][10] in British Columbia, Canada, curating its inaugural exhibition inaugural exhibition, Re-Shaping Memory, Owning History: Through the Lens of Japanese Canadian Redress.[11]
Early life
editShe was born Eiko Nishikihama in 1933 in the Japanese Fishermen's Hospital in the Steveston [12]neighbourhood of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.[13] Her father, Taguchi Torasaburo, and mother, Sawae, were both naturalized Canadian citizens, having emigrated from Japan, and she was one of five children the couple raised in Vancouver's Japantown, or Paueru-gai.[13][14][15] In 1942 the family was upended when they were forcibly relocated to an internment site in Minto City, in accordance with the War Measures Act.[13] The family was not allowed to return to their coastal home after the war, moving to Middlechurch, Manitoba, and eventually settling in Winnipeg in 1949 when restrictions on the movement of Japanese Canadians were finally lifted.[13][16]
In 1959, she married Alistair MacDonald Thomson.[13]
Career
editThomson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba in 1977. In 1980-1982, she studied Asian Art history at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In the 1980s, Thomson worked as a Curator and Assistant Director at Gallery One One One in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1990, she gained a Master's degree in the Social History of Art, studying with Griselda Pollock at the University of Leeds.[14][17] Between [1992] and 1995, Thomson was Executive Director and Curator at the Art Gallery of Prince Albert[18] in Saskatchewan. In 1995, she became Curator at the Burnaby Art Gallery.[16]
Amongst many other achievements, Thomson was an advisor to the Sanavik Inuit Cooperative in Nunavut.[14]
“In 1996, she co-founded Asian Heritage Month, a non-profit society dedicated to recognizing Asian Canadian arts and culture in the month of May.”[19][16]
In 2000, Thomson became the inaugural Curator and Director of the new Japanese Canadian National Museum (now the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre).[16] She resigned from that position in 2002, but continued to collaborate with the museum as a Guest Curator.[16]
From 2005 until her 2010 retirement she was president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians.[16]
Honours
editTo celebrate Thomson’s many achievements, Nikkei Place published a comprehensive biography detailing her accomplishments over a fifty year career.[20]
Chiru Sakura: Falling Cherry Blossoms
editIn 2021, Thomson published a memoir based on her family's experience, Chiru Sakura: Falling Cherry Blossoms, published by Caitlin Press.[14] At 84, Thomson's mother began keeping a journal in Japanese, recording her memories and family history.[14] The memoir weaves together Thomson's translations of passages from her mother's diary along with her own stories of identity, trauma and racism and her efforts to find social justice for herself and others.[14][1][21][22]
Chiru Sakura was shortlisted for the 2022 City of Vancouver Book Award.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b Geiger, Andrea (Spring 2022). "Chiru Sakura – Falling Cherry Blossoms: A Mother and Daughter's Journey through Racism, Internment, and Oppression". BC Studies (213): 156–158.
- ^ https://japanesecanadianartists.com/artist/grace-eiko-thomson/ https://japanesecanadianartists.com/artist/grace-eiko-thomson/.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website=|title=(help) - ^ "The Remarkable Life and Times of Grace Eiko Thomson - Part 5". Discover Nikkei. 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
- ^ https://japanesecanadianartists.com/artist/grace-eiko-thomson/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Interview with Grace Eiko Thomson, author of "Chiru Sakura—Falling Cherry Blossoms" | Ricepaper Magazine". 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
- ^ https://jccabulletin-geppo.ca/chiru-sakura-a-mother-and-daughters-journey-by-grace-eiko-thomson/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "The Remarkable Life and Times of Grace Eiko Thomson - Part 1". Discover Nikkei. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
- ^ "The Remarkable Life and Times of Grace Eiko Thomson - Part 4". Discover Nikkei. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
- ^ a b "Book Award winners and short lists". City of Vancouver Book Award. City of Vancouver. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Volume-20-No.3.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ [inaugural exhibition, Re-Shaping Memory, Owning History: Through the Lens of Japanese Canadian Redress. inaugural exhibition, Re-Shaping Memory, Owning History: Through the Lens of Japanese Canadian Redress.]
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Mackie, Richard (2021-05-01). "1114 Steveston, Powell Street, Minto". The British Columbia Review. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
- ^ a b c d e Lam, Derek (2020). "A Life Dedicated to Justice, Healing, and Memory: Grace Eiko Thomson" (PDF). Nikkei Images. Vol. 25, no. 2. Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre. pp. 20–21.
- ^ a b c d e f Johnson, Gail (13 May 2021). "Grace Eiko Thomson releases memoir of Japanese Canadian internment, racism, and resilience". Stir. Vancouver.
- ^ Ibuki, Norm Masaji (12 April 2016). "The Remarkable Life and Times of Grace Eiko Thomson - Part 1". Discover Nikkei. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Price, John (8 December 2019). "The final straw: Japanese Canadians offered an impossible choice". Times Colonist. Victoria. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ Greenaway, John Endo (6 March 2021). "Chiru Sakura, a Mother and Daughter's Journey by Grace Eiko Thomson". The Bulletin.
- ^ "Education". MannArtGallery. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
- ^ "Asian Pacific American Heritage Month", Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia, 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks California 91320 United States: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2014, doi:10.4135/9781452281889.n511, ISBN 978-1-4522-8190-2, retrieved 2024-07-13
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NI_2020_Summer_Digital.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "In Conversation with: Grace Eiko Thomson – NAJC". najc.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
- ^ "Roundup Issue 281 | Book Review and Author Conversation | Chiru Sakura, Falling Cherry Blossoms by Grace Eiko Thomson". BCMA. Retrieved 2024-07-13.