Road to Cultural Understanding

Take this road in coming weeks, and its bridges to understanding the varied communities of Los Angeles. Called “Finding Family Stories,” the trip begins Thursday at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. Later it will go on to the Watts Towers Arts Center and Plaza de la Raza. Each stop offers a lesson about our city and its people.

The foremost goal of the project is to forge a partnership among the Asian American, the African American and the Latino communities.

Sponsored by the James Irvine Foundation and three years in preparation, the project centers on six artists’ explorations into their cultural identities through family stories and traditions. There’s more, too, and it’s interactive.

At the Japanese American museum, there will be a two-hour program that begins with a tour of the art exhibit and an art workshop for adults and children. The program continues with the six artists discussing the insights and experiences they gained from participating in the project.

Another aspect of “Family Stories” is an internship program in which young people from the three communities will be taught how to collect family and community stories on videotape. The resulting tapes will be integrated into exhibits at the three locations.

The project will continue through early January at each of the three sites. It begins Oct. 27 at the Watts Towers Center and Nov. 17 at Plaza de la Raza in East Los Angeles.

Admission to the exhibit in East Los Angeles and Watts is free. At the Japanese American museum the cost is $4. For further information call the Japanese American National Museum at (213) 625-0414, Plaza de la Raza at (213) 223-2475 or Watts Towers Arts Center at (213) 847-4646.