Rediscovering Asian American Art Panel Conversation
Friday, March 14, 6:30 p.m. EDT

Smithsonian American Art Museum
McEvoy Auditorium and YouTube
Free | Registration required

This program brings together three scholars who have worked to illuminate the contributions of twentieth-century Asian American artists. ShiPu Wang, Coats Family Chair in the Arts and professor of art history at the University of California, Merced, discusses his research into the lives and careers of Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo; community historian Patricia Wakida reflects on publishing artist catalogs and “awakening the archives” to bring the stories of WWII-era Japanese American artists to the public; and David Martin, curator at the Cascadia Art Museum, discusses his work recovering histories of Asian American artists of the Pacific Northwest. A group conversation follows the individual presentations, moderated by Melissa Ho, SAAM’s curator of twentieth-century art. 

Know Before You Go

In-Person Attendees
The auditorium doors will close ten minutes after the published start time for the program, following introductory remarks. Latecomers arriving after this grace period will be admitted at the discretion of staff.

Virtual Attendees
Online participants must be subscribed to SAAM’s YouTube channel 24 hours in advance to participate in the chat and ask a question that may be answered live by the speaker during the program.

Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo
On view through August 17, 2025

Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW

Miki Hayakawa (1899-1953), Hisako Hibi (1907-1991), and Miné Okubo (1912-2001) were three of the most active and critically acclaimed American artists of Japanese descent in the years leading up to World War II. Their careers spanned eight decades and four US states, yet the full extent of their contributions remain underrecognized within twentieth-century American art history. Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo presents an unprecedented examination of these three trailblazing women artists and asserts their place in the story of modernism.

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