Craft, Community and Care: The Art and Legacy of Bob Shimabukuro
Craft, Community, and Care explores the life of Okinawan American activist, artist, and writer Bob Shimabukuro. Instrumental in the Pacific Northwest’s Japanese American Redress Movement, Shimabukuro was also an acclaimed woodworker and furniture maker known for his design of the Portland restaurant Tanuki. He served as an editor and columnist for The Pacific Citizen, the national paper for the JACL, and the International Examiner in Seattle. Remembered by a friend as “a bit of a philosopher, a little bit of a dreamer, a social activist, a little bit of an artist, all wrapped up in one,” Shimabukuro imbued each of his many endeavors with deep care and dedication to social justice. “We must stand together,” he once wrote. “In struggle and in solidarity, whenever we can.”
Organizer
The mission of the Japanese American Museum of Oregon is to preserve and honor the history and culture of Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest, educate the public about the Japanese American experience during WWII, and advocate for the protection of civil rights for all Americans.