THE APPA Newsletter

July 26, 2006

Obon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obon

http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=27391

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/6653/obon1.htm

See This Weekend

MISSION STATEMENT:

Promote full utilization of the capabilities of the Enterprise's employees and champion the betterment of the company and community. Promote interest in Asian Pacific issues and culture and act as a bridge to all groups within our community. (substitute in your Enterprise and company, etc…)

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ed. by Douglas Ikemi

(dkikemi@pacbell.net)

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Back issues of the newsletter for all of 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 are available at http://www.ikemi.info/APPA/newsletters.html if you want to look up some past event. The website www.apa-pro.org no longer exists. This newsletter was originally published under the auspices of the Hughes Asian Pacific Professional Association (no longer extant). It currently has no affiliation and is available to anyone who is interested in downloading it.

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Please send in information on cultural events and news items to dkikemi@pacbell.net or dkikemi@mac.com . Thanks to those who have.

Long range calendar items:

Chinatown Farmers Market Every Thursday, 3:00pm to 7:00pm Chinatown Business Improvement District http://www.ChinatownLA.com/ For Information (213)680-0243

Los Angeles Public Library Celebrates our DiverseCity

http://www.lapl.org/kidspath/events/diversecity/index.html

Mani Wall and A Sacred Geography

Exhibition at UCLA June 11 - September 10, 2006

In 1996, artist/writer Mary Heebner and her husband, photographer Macduff Everton, traveled to the walled Kingdom of Lo in Nepal’s Mustang district to visit Heebner’s daughter, Sienna Craig, an anthropologist and writer who lived in Nepal intermittently from 1993–2005. They rode horses and trekked, stopping at villages along the way. In 2004, Heebner and Everton returned again to visit Craig, who was then working as a medical anthropologist in Lhasa, Tibet.

“Mani Wall and A Sacred Geography” — on view at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History from June 11 through Sept. 10 — is the result of a creative collaboration by Heebner, Craig and Everton, inspired by the landscape of these regions and the wall of painted boulders etched with Tibetan prayers (mani) that they encountered in Nepal.

In 2003, Heebner made individually pulp-painted sheets of paper, using variations of the ochre, gray and white stripes of the mani walls, to frame a collection of 12 sonnets that Craig had written about the Himalaya and Tibet. These sheets of paper became the loose-leaf pages of the elegant, limited-edition book, “A Sacred Geography: Sonnets of the Himalaya and Tibet,” which will be displayed at the Fowler in its entirety.

Heebner later used the same hues to create the “Mani Wall” series of paintings, also on display. Interspersed along the gallery walls will be a selection of 14 panoramic photographs of Nepal by Everton. Together, the words and images from this family project create a loving and personal tribute to this sacred region.

About the artists

Mary Heebner’s collages, paintings, works on paper and artist’s books are exhibited throughout the United States. A version of her artist’s book, “On the Blue Shore of Silence: Poems of the Sea by Pablo Neruda,” was published in 2004. She also writes travel articles for several magazines including Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Life and National Geographic Traveler.

Macduff Everton’s widely published photographs are exhibited and collected around the world. He is a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler and Islands Magazine, as well as a correspondent for Virtuoso Life. Currently he is updating his seminal book, “The Modern Maya.”

Sienna Craig is completing a Ph.D. in medical and cultural anthropology from Cornell University. In 1998–99, Craig and her husband, Kenneth Bauer, founded DROKPA, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to form partnerships with pastoral communities in the Himalaya and Central Asia to implement grass-roots development and catalyze social entrepreneurship. In addition to her dissertation research, since 2002 she has been an ethnographer and research coordinator with a National Institutes of Health/Global Network for Women’s Health project based in Lhasa, Tibet. Her memoir, “Horses Like Lightning: A Passage Through Mustang,” will be published in 2007.

Visiting the Fowler

“Mani Wall and A Sacred Geography” is presented in conjunction with the debut of a major, traveling exhibition, “The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama,” and will be on view in the Fowler Museum’s Goldenberg Galleria. The Fowler Museum, part of UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture, is located in the north part of the UCLA campus.

Related event: 1–4 p.m., Saturday, June 24, A World of Art Family Workshop: Books of Place

Write original poems about a special place — real or imagined — and combine them with watercolor paintings to create your own artist’s book based on the exhibition “Mani Wall and A Sacred Geography.” The cost is $10 for members; $15 for non-members. Reservations are required; call (310) 825-7325.

12:00 PM - 5:00 PM

UCLA Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, CA 90095

The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama

Exhibition at UCLA June 11 - September 10, 2006

UCLA Fowler Museum to Premiere the Traveling Exhibition

Seventy-seven contemporary artists from 25 countries have contributed artworks for an exhibition inspired by the messages, vision and values of the Dalai Lama. “The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama” — on view at the UCLA Fowler Museum from June 11-Sept. 10 — explores themes of peace, compassion, patience and tolerance. Participating artists have considered the Dalai Lama in a broad array of new and existing works made in a variety of media expressing their personal interpretations of and reflections on his philosophies and ideals.

A photograph of the Dalai Lama taken in India in 1998 by the late Richard Avedon was among the first works contributed to “The Missing Peace.” Many artists, including Bill Viola, Mike and Doug Starn, Sylvie Fleury, El Anatsui, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Michal Rovner and Chuck Close, have created new works for the exhibition. For example, Viola recently traveled to India to meet with the Dalai Lama to create a new work that will debut at the Fowler.

All works in the exhibition have been donated by the artists and will be auctioned to raise funds for the peace initiatives of the Dalai Lama Foundation and the Committee of 100 for Tibet, the co-sponsoring organizations. The Dalai Lama, who has met with “The Missing Peace” organizers on several occasions, supports the project and will be lending a work of art from his personal collection.

Darlene Markovich, president of the Committee of 100 for Tibet, is executive director of “The Missing Peace,” leading a team of more than 20 individuals and 17 international advisers who have been organizing the exhibition for more than two years.

“Our goal is to use art as inspiration and a catalyst to shift attention towards peace. We hope the exhibition will inspire others to explore and embrace these ideals,” Markovich said. “Peace may be elusive in our world, but the Dalai Lama consistently shows us that dedicating oneself to peace can have widespread positive impact.”

Randy Rosenberg, curator of “The Missing Peace,” formerly served as curator for the art collections of The World Bank and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“The exhibition’s 77 artists bring their individual stories and experiences as well as a rich and diverse array of media and styles,” Rosenberg said, “but together their works speak eloquently to the Dalai Lama's vision of compassion, peace and the unity of all things.”

The exhibition and associated educational programs endeavor to make an enduring contribution to the global dialogue about peace. Extensive public programming planned in conjunction with the exhibition, from artists’ panels to family workshops that will encourage dialogue about peace and ethics, will be announced in the spring.

The Dalai Lama Foundation, founded in 2002, supports the development of our shared global capacity for ethics and peace. The Dalai Lama Foundation runs three initiatives: a free study guide and study circles on ethics and peace based on the Dalai Lama’s book “Ethics for a New Millennium,” online courses on ethics and peace topics, and curricula for “The Missing Peace.” Visit http://www.dalailamafoundation.org/.

Visiting the Fowler

The Fowler Museum is open from noon to 5 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays; and from noon until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The Fowler Museum, part of UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture, is located in the north part of the UCLA campus. Admission is free. Campus parking is available for $8 in Lot 4.

For more information, please visit http://www.dlportrait.org

Time: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM

UCLA Fowler Museum Los Angeles, CA 90095

Cost: Free

www. fowler.ucla.edu

From Heart to Hand

Exhibition at Pacific Asia Museum June 22 - September 17, 2006

Modern Japanese Prints from the George and Marcia Good Collection. From Heart to Hand focuses on 15 modern Japanese prints from the post war era as represented in the George and Marcia Good collection, donated to Pacific Asia Museum in 1990. These prints have been selected to present a sample of the wide array of styles and techniques found in works of the modern Japanese print movement.

Time: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N Robles Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101

Special Instructions

Wednesday – Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Tel: (626) 449-2742, www.pacificasiamuseum.org

Merging: The Art of Diana Shui-Iu Wong March 18, 2006 – October 15, 2006

Merging features a collection of work that spans four decades, from Wong’s early impressionistic portraits and landscapes to recent abstract compositions inspired by the Chinese philosophy of the I Ching or The Book of Changes.

While Wong’s classical training in both Chinese and Western painting form the basis for her techniques, her study of the I-Ching offered her a decisive break from traditional modes as well as new creative directions. In 1962, Wong began to experiment beyond the conventions of her formal art training to explore the liberating complexity of abstraction. Discovering that she could express pride for her heritage and culture through her work, Wong has also found self- empowerment through her art making. Wong’s most recent work ventures boldly into abstraction while grounded in nature and the elements. Her striking images, like color-flooded snapshots of the cosmos, explore universal questions about being and balance.

Chinese American Museum

El Pueblo de Los Angeles

125 Paseo de la Plaza

Los Angeles, California 90012

www.camla.org, (213) 485-8567

Chrysanthemums on the Eastern Hedge: Gardens and Plants in Chinese Art

Exhibition at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

From Aug. 5, 2006 – Jan. 7, 2007

The Huntington’s first-ever exhibition of Chinese art will explore the symbolism and tradition of five plants frequently used as decorative motifs---lotus, orchid, plum, bamboo, pine, and chrysanthemum---and the profound significance they hold in Chinese culture. The exhibition will examine how these plants became the conveyors of important themes in Chinese art, representing harbingers of seasonal change, the triumph and transience of beauty, or the symbolic expression of moral strength and virtue through times of great social and political change. These plants, and their symbolism, also play a key role in the Huntington’s Chinese Garden, currently under construction. (see related item, below.) The 55 works on display in the exhibition, ranging in date from the 10th to the 19th century, will include painted scrolls, textiles, ceramics, wood block prints, lacquer, glass, and jade. They are drawn from the collections of The Huntington, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Pacific Asian Museum, and several private lenders. The exhibition is made possible by Cathay Bank. Additional support provided by the Blakemore Foundation, the Robert F. Erburu Exhibition Endowment, and the Peter Paanakker estate through the Carrie Kolb Foundation. (Library, West Hall)

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, CA 91108

Tel: (626) 405-2140, lblackburn@huntington.org ,

www.huntington.org

July 29-Aug 20 The Fox Lantern, a family puppet theatre production set in feudal Japan. World premiere at Triumirate Pi Theatre, Sat 11AM & 2PM, Sun 2 &4PM. (no 2PM show Aug 5, no performances Aug 13. Centenary United Methodist Church Social Hall, 300 S. Central Ave., (3^rd & Central in Little Tokyo). $10 adults, $5 children, For reservations call 213-617-9097, email cumcshotokyo@aol.com.j

Aug 3 1st & Central Summer Concerts: Lenine and DJ Sergio Mielniczenko

FREE

6:30 PM - DJ Sergio Mielniczenko

7:00 PM - Lenine

Singer, composer, arranger, musician and producer, Recife-born Lenine has become one of the stars of Brazilian popular music. He is acclaimed by the public, the press, his fellow artists and tastemakers alike and is considered one of the standard bearers of the Brazilian scene for the 21st century for his brilliant talent at combining original music with the rhythms of Norctheast Brazil over a base of rock, pop and electronica.

West Coast Debut. DJ set with KPFK 90.7 FM's Sergio Mielniczenko to open. Free. Sponsored, in part, by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the Irvine Foundation. Media sponsors: KFPK 90.7 FM and Downtown News. www.janm.org

JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

369 East First Street

Los Angeles, California 90012

phone: (213) 625-0414

fax: (213) 625-1770

Aug 5,6 Gardena Buddhist Temple Obon

517 W. 166th Street, Gardena, CA 90247

Website: http://www.gardenabuddhistchurch.org/

Call for event times- (310) 327-9400

August 05, 2006 4th Annual Historic Filipinotown Anniversary Celebration Historic Filipinotown: Next Exit

At Filipino American Community of Los Angeles

Pilipino American Network and Advocacy (PANA) presents 4th Annual Historic Filipinotown Anniversary Celebration Historic Filipinotown: Next Exit

Join us in the installation ceremony of the Historic Filipinotown Freeway Sign, to be placed on the 101 Freeway Alvarado Exit.

*All Day Festival *Performances *Historic Filipinotown Bus Tours

For more information, contact Ms. Cecile Ramos, President of the Interim Board of the Historic Filipinotown Neighborhood Council, at (213) 413-3323.

Sponsors: TWNDC Manila Terrace, Joselyn Geaga-Rosenthal, VGR & Associates, Van Gerard Dichoso, Mr. & Mrs. Carlos Angeles, Mr. & Mrs. Jose S. Valdomar, Mrs. Amelia B. Coronel, Philippine Town Inc., FACLA, Joseph Bernardo, SAGE Advisors, Santa Maria Group with SIPA, Dr. Jose Baldonado, Connie Guerrero, Ms. Cecilia Ancheta, & Mrs. Fe Moscoso

Saturday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) 1740 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90026

August 05, 2006 Pilipino American Network and Advocacy (PANA) presents 4th Annual Historic Filipinotown Anniversary Celebration Historic Filipinotown: Next Exit

Join us in the installation ceremony of the Historic Filipinotown Freeway Sign, to be placed on the 101 Freeway Alvarado Exit.

*All Day Festival *Performances *Historic Filipinotown Bus Tours

For more information, contact Ms. Cecile Ramos, President of the Interim Board of the Historic Filipinotown Neighborhood Council, at (213) 413-3323.

Saturday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA), 1740 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90026

August 08, 2006 Lecture - The Garden in Chinese Culture

At The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

Wan-go H.C. Weng, a noted art collector and author of several books on Chinese art, will discuss the design, history, and function of gardens in China and their influence on art and culture. Weng has loaned several major piece for the exhibition “Chrysanthemums on the Eastern Hedge: Gardens and Plants in Chinese Art.” Free. Friends’ Hall. (626) 405-2100.

Tuesday, 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, CA 91108

Tel: (626) 405-2140, lblackburn@huntington.org , www.huntington.org

August 09, 2006 Performance - At Home in this World?

At UCLA’s Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater

“At home in this world? An APPEX Experience!” — a series of four extraordinary evenings highlighting works of 18 traditional and experimental dancers, choreographers, musicians and composers from Asia and the United States — will have its U.S. premiere in UCLA’s Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater. Final performances will be presented at 7 p.m. on Aug. 9 and Aug. 11. A reception to meet the artists follows each of the four programs.

The 18 celebrated performers from Asia and America will present individual and original collaborative works of music, dance, theater and shadow puppetry that speak of tradition, innovation and the role of the artist in these extraordinary times.

Wednesday, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

UCLA Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater Los Angeles, CA 90095

Special Instructions

Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for students and seniors, and $36 for all four performances; they may be purchased through the UCLA Central Ticket Office at (310) 825-2101 or http://www.tickets.ucla.edu/. Campus parking costs $8 and is available in Lot 4. (Enter the campus from Sunset Boulevard and Westwood Plaza.)

Tel: (310) 206-1335 www.wac.ucla.edu/cip.

Aug 12-20 Nisei Week, Downtown LA Little Tokyo

Parade Aug 13

Ondo Aug 20

http://www.niseiweek.org/

Aug 12 8th Annual Courtyard Kids Festival: Every Day is Children's Day

Join Courtyard Kaeru in celebrating the spirit of youth. Holidays honoring children are held around the globe throughout the year. In Japan, Children's Day is May 5th, but the National Museum is celebrating it in the summer along with other communities.

Dance, sing, create, and play with us as we, together, experience festive cultural customs of our neighbors around the world. Lively music, arts and crafts, and storytelling and games plan to make our annual summer festival the fun place to start Nisei Week in Little Tokyo. 12-1PM www.janm.org

JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

369 East First Street

Los Angeles, California 90012

phone: (213) 625-0414

fax: (213) 625-1770

Aug 12-13 Tofu Festival, Downtown LA Little Tokyo

Aug 17 Hapa Comedy Showcase

Stand-up comedians from throughout the Southland will have you laughing 'til it hurts as they tackle their own identity politics and family dynamics. 7:30PM

In conjunction with the exhibition kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa www.janm.org

JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

369 East First Street

Los Angeles, California 90012

phone: (213) 625-0414

fax: (213) 625-1770

Aug 19 Little Tokyo Walking Tour

11:15AM, 12:15PM

Relive history and learn about present-day Little Tokyo with National Museum docents on this historic walking tour.

$8 for National Museum members and $13 for non-members, includes Museum admission. Reservations along with comfortable walking shoes and clothes are recommended. Weather permitting.

JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

369 East First Street

Los Angeles, California 90012

phone: (213) 625-0414

fax: (213) 625-1770

Aug 20 Samurai Films at Little Tokyo

1PM Sword of Doom

5PM The Sword that Saved Edo

$8 general admission, $6 seniors, students, JACCC members

Japanese American Cultural and Community Center

244 South San Pedro Street, Suite 505 (between 2nd and 3rd Streets)

Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), CA 90012

(213) 628-2725

Aratani/Japan America Theatre Box Office Info: (213) 680-3700

Thursday, August 24, 2006, 8pm Shidara Taiko

Deep from within the mountains of Japan comes Shidara, a troupe of brilliant young men and women, presenting the art of Taiko drumming like it's never been seen before! Blending top-notch skill, blinding energy and breakneck speed, their performances carry a deeper spiritual purpose rooted in ancient times. Defying time and place, their music captures the earthy tones of long ago, and thunders with new images of Japanese mountain life. In their signature piece, Niebuchi, one realizes the immense drama of the roaring river whirlpool that members pass by in daily training.

The Shidara ensemble explodes with masterful stick work, then ushers the audience softly away with the soulful harmonies of shinobue bamboo flutes. Adding layer upon layer of passion, precision and spirited humor, the performance builds up to their grand finale, re-creating the 700-year old Hanamatsuri dance festival celebrated in the small villages deep in the Higashisonome mountains. The sheer joy of SHIDARA's stage resonates in the minds and hearts of the audience long after the last beat has been played.