The Suitcase Project
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Portals and Arbutus Galleries 2687 James Street, Duncan, British Columbia V9L 2X5

Kayla Isomura, photographer, graphic design by Dorian Melton for CVPAG
CVPAG presents: THE SUITCASE PROJECT - Arbutus Gallery, Cowichan Community Centre, Duncan July 5-26th
THE SUITCASE PROJECT: touring from the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre, Burnaby, BC, Arbutus Gallery, 2687 James Street, Duncan July 5-26th, M-F 11-5 pm, Sat 12-3 pm, OPENING AND PERFORMANCES July 9th 5-8 pm
“If you were going to lose everything – your home, your business, memories and personal possessions – what would you take outside of things for survival?” -- Kayla Isomura, photographer and fourth-generation Japanese Canadian
The Suitcase Project, photographed and curated by Kayla Isomura, will be exhibited in the Cowichan Valley, at the Cowichan Valley Arts Council [CVAC] Arbutus Gallery, Cowichan Community Centre, 2687 James St, Duncan. The event is sponsored by the Cowichan Public Art Gallery Society (CVPAG).
Kayla Isomura’s poignantly meaningful multi-media exhibit explores the generational impact of cultural dispossession and loss of the heart’s home. Subjects range from infants to 51-years-old and were photographed in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Western Washington.
Stemming from the history of Japanese Canadians and Americans during WWII, this multimedia exhibit highlights why this history is relevant more than 75 years later. The Suitcase Project recognizes the on-going dispossession and discrimination of minority groups and people of colour today.
Additional events for this exhibition include: "Global Displacement" public panel and discussion, Mesachie Room, Arbutus Gallery, July 18th 7-9 pm, and "Landscapes of Injustice" presentation by Michael Abe, project manager of "Landscapes of Injustice," (University of Victoria), Mesachie Room, Arbutus Gallery July 26th, 10-12 noon
Admission donations kindly accepted. The Cowichan Valley Public Art Gallery is a not for profit society that boasts 70 members and 22 people working an the board and 6 different committees. Our goal is to raise 35 million dollars to build a contemporary purpose built gallery to serve the needs of the Cowichan Valley and Vancouver island.