A Century of Union

A Century of Union

What has changed, stayed the same, shifted during the 100 years of Union? In what ways does Union Church reflect an emblematic and necessary history of Little Tokyo? How can we investigate history through site-specific storytelling? Celebrate 101 Years of Union as we share the history behind this infamous building.

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Remembering Alan Nishio (1945-2023)

Remembering Alan Nishio (1945-2023)

Visual Communications (VC) mourns the passing of Alan Nishio, VC's first Board President, community leader, activist, and long-time friend. After battling cancer for over 17 years, Alan passed away on December 27. 2023. We honor and carry on Alan's legacy by supporting Asian Pacific American voices and stories that empower communities and challenge perspectives.

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AWC Spotlight | So Young Shelly Yo

AWC Spotlight | So Young Shelly Yo

So Young Shelly Yo is a first-generation, Korean American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Her short films have screened and received accolades at film festivals around the world, including LAAPFF. As an AWC fellow, she challenged herself with making a short documentary after a number of widely-screened and award-winning narrative shorts.

Read more about Shelly’s AWC fellowship experience, her first feature film, and what she has been up to!

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AWC Spotlight | Jeff Man

AWC Spotlight | Jeff Man

A Maryland-raised, Los Angeles-based filmmaker, Jeff Man attributes his success as an artist to the community and friends he made through VC and his 2012 AWC Fellowship. After writing and directing Santa Claus (2017), which received a Special Jury Mention at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, Jeff is excited to continue his career and direct his first feature-length film in 2023.

Read more about how participating in AWC, LAAPFF, and being a Digital Histories instructor shaped Jeff into the person and artist he is today.

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Franklin S. Odo (1939–2022)

Franklin S. Odo (1939–2022)

Franklin Odo, a prominent Asian American Studies scholar, activist and long-time friend and supporter of Visual Communications, passed away on September 28, 2022. A third-generation Japanese American born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Franklin was a forebear in the Ethic Studies Movement. He was one of the 4 editors of the first anthology focusing on Asian Americans, Roots: An Asian American Reader, which became the nationwide standard textbook in Asian American Studies for many years, and the author of the first VC-published book, In Movement: A Pictorial History of Asian America.

Franklin’s legacy is imposing. We mourn the loss, commemorate and celebrate Franklin’s life and far-reaching contributions and impacts to the many individuals and communities he has touched and uplifted.

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