Remembering Mar Elepano (1954-2025)
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Visual Communications mourns the passing of our former staff member and lifelong friend, Mariano “Mar” Elepano, who was part of the VC family from 1985 to 2007.
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In Memory of Robert A. Nakamura, Our Founder
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In 1970, Bob founded Visual Communications as a community based media organization to document and empower our communities. Through his work, Visual Communications became a story of peoples and communities in movement.
Read MoreVC and COLOR CONGRESS Present: Resistance & Joy
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In celebration of Pride Month, Visual Communications is partnering with Color Congress for the Resistance & Joy Screening Tour and to present a community screening in Los Angeles!
Read MoreCelebrating John Esaki
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We would like to congratulate John Esaki on his recent retirement from the Japanese American National Museum!
Read MoreA Century of Union
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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.
Read MoreRemembering Steve Tatsukawa (1949-1984)
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February 27, 2024 marks the 40th Anniversary of the passing of Steve Tatsukawa – Visual Communications’ (VC) founding Executive Director and beloved community activist. Today, we recall his impact, his humor, and positive influence he had on those around him.
Read MoreRemembering Alan Nishio (1945-2023)
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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.
Read MoreAWC Spotlight | So Young Shelly Yo
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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!
Read MoreAWC Spotlight | Jeff Man
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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.
Read MoreFranklin S. Odo (1939–2022)
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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.
Read MoreAWC Spotlight | Shaun Vivaris
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Shaun Vivaris, a New York-raised and Los Angeles-based filmmaker, has found his community after his 2016–2017 Armed With a Camera Fellowship. A natural storyteller and formerly aspiring novelist who makes genre-bending fantasies that have screened at multiple international film festivals, Shaun strives in his works for authentic Asian American characters and stories beyond mere representation.
In light of the release of his first feature film Lisa Mania on August 23, we checked in with Shaun and discussed his career since his AWC Fellowship, the making of Lisa Mania, his creative process and how he found a community through VC.
Read MoreCorky Lee: Undisputed, Unofficial, Unforgettable
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Corky Lee was a New York City photographer and activist who documented Chinatown and Asian Pacific American communities. He passed at the age of 73 after battling COVID-19. In this article, our Archives & Distribution Manager Abraham Ferrer recounts his 30+ year long friendship with Corky.
Read MoreJoin us at Suite VC during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival!
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Join us at Suite VC during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Here is a starting point for media-based conversations that can bridge understanding between communities and different allies. By amplifying storytellers and centering their friendships and experiences, we hope to align diverse perspectives to build a better world for all of us.
Read MoreJoin us for a virtual VC Archives "Tagging Party"!
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Sign up for one of Visual Communications’ “tagging parties" to help us add historical info to images in our VC Archives! If you have knowledge of some (or even many) of the people, places, and/or events that took place over VC's nearly 50-year history, we need your help! All sessions will take place via Zoom.
Read MoreART4FSN: What Can Us Artists Do?
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As we count down to Election 2020, join Visual Communications and the Sustainable Little Tokyo/Arts Action Committee on Tuesday, October 27 at 5pm PT for a lively conversation on how community artists can use their talents to engage their constituents.
Read MoreVisual Communications is a Community Collaborator for Outfest 2020
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Visual Communications is pleased to partner with Outfest to promote the 2020 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival, which runs online from August 20-30. Watch 160+ films, including 35 world premieres, filmmaker celebrity conversations, and live events for one low price on Outfest’s ultimate streaming destination.
Read MoreSENSE US 2020: Asian Pacific American Lives
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Visual Communications produced six videos for SENSE US 2020: Asian Pacific American Lives, which utilize the power of storytelling to provide a deeper understanding of AANHPI communities in Southern California, so that we can inspire communities to complete the 2020 Census.
Read MoreVC Connect #10: The Way to One’s Heart
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It’s all about food! Our Digital Histories and Armed With a Camera filmmakers know that food is a wonderful way to express one’s true feelings and cement a sense of “community.” Even if that special gift can be taken for granted at times, we still enjoy it while it lasts.
Read More400 Artists and 80 Arts Organizations Receive $2.7 Million in COVID-19 Relief Grants
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Visual Communications was among the 80 arts organizations that received grants as part of a broad-based COVID-19 relief effort for the visual arts in the Los Angeles region, provided by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the California Community Foundation. We are grateful to be one of the organizations to receive funding.
Read MoreVisual Communications Stands in Solidarity
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We still have work to do. While media can be used to destroy communities, Visual Communications will continue to use media to build and connect communities. We passionately support the countless organizations who are doing work in pursuit of justice.
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