The exhibition will showcase the works of several regional contemporary artists, including:

Hanako O’Leary, a craft-based sculptor and installation artist. She was born and raised by her Japanese mother and American father in the American Midwest. She grew up speaking Japanese at home, but English in school and everywhere else. Until she turned 18, for 2 months during the summer, Hanako’s mother would send her and her two siblings on a yearly pilgrimage back to their maternal home in the Seto Inlet Sea of Japan. This deeply influenced her spiritual beliefs, artistic voice, and feminine ideals.

Building off this personal history, Hanako looks to Japanese folk traditions of the Setonaikai Islands as a basis for her artwork. Through handmade objects, installations, and storytelling, Hanako explores this relationship with her matriarchal lineage and the complexities of feminine love, sexuality, and power.

Jorge Mota, who, as a child, drawing was a pastime between brothers with no toys: often competitive and playful. In high school, he began to understand how evocative and impactful art could be. Art was more than just his hobby; it was a guiding light through life. helping him stay on track in his teens.

Now, his work weaves together the rich cultural heritage of his indigenous roots and the Mexican American experience, spotlighting iconic cultural figures and amplifying community voices. Through his creative journey, he strives to inspire and empower others who share similar backgrounds.

Kenji Stoll, curator, visual artist and tattooer based in Tacoma, Washington, whose interests include public art, murals, and community.

Lauren Iida, whose artworks are an ongoing investigation into her own Japanese American heritage and the lasting intergenerational trauma resulting from the unjust incarceration of her ancestors during World War II. Through her paper-cut art practice, Iida brings new life to historical photos, amplifies forgotten stories, and draws connections between the injustices of her past and those presently being faced in her local and global community.

Troy Long, a tattooer and artist based in Tacoma, who contributes to the vibrant local art scene.

VANVAN (Vanessa Jacob), a self-taught artist whose work is infused with nostalgia for 20th-century pop culture, utilizing ink, Copic markers, and screen printing to express their unique vision.

Yoshiko Yamamoto, founder and proprietor of The Arts & Crafts Press. Her love of printmaking began in the early teenage years as she collected Japanese woodblock prints in Tokyo where she grew up. After her collegiate years at U.C. Berkeley, she founded the Arts & Crafts Press while working as a freelance writer. There she and her husband published letterpress-printed books, magazines, and chapbooks while creating colorful linoleum block prints and posters.