Spencer Museum opens exhibit featuring art from Jimmy Tsutomu

The Spencer Museum of Art opened a new exhibit, Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani, on Feb. 19. The exhibit will be on display until June 28. 

There are 145 different pieces of art, including paintings, drawings, collages and mixed media. The art tells the life story of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani, a Japanese-American artist who was detained by the United States Government during World War 2.

 “He traveled back to Japan with his family, he lived there, he studied art, he came back to the United States and he ended up incarcerated during World War 2 in an internment camp,” said Elizabeth Kanost, director of external affairs at the Spencer Museum. “After that, he ended up on the East Coast and eventually was living on the streets of New York City when a filmmaker discovered him and his art.” 

The exhibition has six sections: “Sidewalk Stories,” “Street Nihonga,” “Tule Lake Memory-Scape,” “Multiple Ground Zeros,” “Affinities and Connections,” and “Entangled Memories.” 

On Feb. 28, the Spencer Museum held an event called Art Cart: Colorful Collage to promote the exhibit. Families, students and members of the Lawrence community participated in making collages inspired by Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani. 

“It was something fun to do for the weekend, I love being in the art museum. Any time to spend time making art with friends is cool,” said Lawrence resident Wilkerson Schmalzried.

The museum has more promotional events coming up, so follow along on their website for more upcoming events. 

Watch the segment here: