Sansei

Marlene Howell

MARLENE HOWELL (née Seki) marlenehowellgallery.com Marlene was born in Toronto and moved to Vancouver Island in 1996. Since then she has lived in and has exhibited her artwork in Khartoum, Sudan, New York City, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia before settling in Victoria, BC. Her artistic development is a result of the influential instructors at the […]

Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull

Jared is an Edmonton-based director, dramaturg, actor, educator and playwright who has focused much of his artistic work on Theatre for Young People. His acting work has been seen on stages across Western Canada in such productions as Mitch Miyagawa’s The Plum Tree, and Marty Chan’s Mom, Dad, I’m Living with a White Girl. Jared’s […]

Warren Hoyano

Warren Hoyano works with paper and watercolour. He creates two and three-dimensional work often by non-traditional means. This involves bending and folding prepared paper in ways that add structure and volume. Hoyano has participated in solo and juried shows since 2004.

Kim Moritsugu

Kim Moritsugu was born and raised in Toronto. She is the author of six novels to date, including Looks Perfect, nominated for the Toronto Book Award; The Glenwood Treasure, shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Best Crime Novel award; The Restoration of Emily, serialized on CBC Radio; and The Oakdale Dinner Club. Kim also conducts a […]

Nagata Shachu

Nagata Shachu, based in Toronto, Canada, has enthralled audiences with its mesmerizing and heart-pounding performances of the Japanese drum (taiko) since its formation in 1998. The group has toured widely throughout Canada, the US and Italy, in addition to Mexico and Lebanon, performing in major theatres, concert halls, and festivals. While rooted in the folk […]

Susan Aihoshi

Susan Aihoshi is a sansei, or third generation Japanese Canadian. She was born in Toronto, a city she loves and where she has lived all her life. She studied at the University of Toronto and has two degrees in English literature. Susan has worked in publishing for most of her career. With the publication of […]

Joan Fairs

Joan has been practising Ikebana for over 35 years and has obtained her top level of teaching with the Sangetsu School, headquartered in Atami, Japan, in 2013. She is also a qualified florist, with a certificate in Commercial Floristry from Kwantlen University (1997). Joan teaches beginner and continuing ikebana students at her townhouse complex in […]

Mark Takeshi McGregor

Described as a “mind-blowing” musician of “huge physical energy” (Victoria Times Colonist), flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading interpreters of contemporary, avant-garde, and experimental music. As a soloist, chamber musician, improvisor, interdisciplinary artist, and as flutist of the Victoria-based Aventa Ensemble, McGregor has performed extensively throughout North and South […]

Randall Okita

Randall Okita is a Canadian visual artist and filmmaker whose work employs sculpture, technology, physically challenging performances or stunt-work, and rich cinematography. His work has been shown in both group and solo exhibition, awarded internationally, and screened at festivals around the world, including retrospective screenings of his short film catalogue in San Francisco and Toronto. […]

Mary Akemi Morris

Mary Akemi Morris is a watercolour and acrylic painter born in the internment camp of Tashme, British Columbia in 1945 and now based in London, Ontario. She is a graduate of Fine Arts, University of Toronto and has taught art in secondary schools in North York and London, Ontario. In 2019, she exhibited her art […]

Sharon Sasaki

Family Physician, Visual collage artist, Science Fiction Author. Visual art focuses on creating abstract or impressionistic images depicting creatures both real and imaginary in collage using Japanese papers: washi and momi papers. Science fiction novels include: Welcome to the Madhouse, Genesis, Bud by the Grace of God, Amazing Grace (soon to be published), Hiro’s Hardship […]

Elizabeth Hasegawa Agresta

Elizabeth is a painter and third generation artist, carrying on a family legacy in the creative arts which includes: kimono design, Japanese ceramics, classic wooden yacht design, culinary arts, photography, painting, writing, and poetry. Elizabeth studied at The Art Students League of New York and currently dedicates her time to studying contemporary art, experimenting with […]

M.A. Tateishi

M.A.Tateishi is a Vancouver painter inspired by bright colour and geometric form. Her unique creative process involves up to twenty layers of painting and drawing on tissue applied to wood panel. Then the layers are torn away to reveal the history of the artwork. Finally, resin is applied to create translucency. Her artwork has been […]

Eileen Koyama

Eileen Koyama earned her B.Sc. in Research Psychology at the University of Toronto before moving to Tokyo to work as an editor of academic journal articles. After returning home, she worked as a freelance editor of non-fiction books. Years later, when trauma and PTSD turned her world upside down, art therapy was there to catch […]

Jo Anne Maikawa

The last ten years of my many years of teaching with the Toronto District School Board focussed on creating and disseminating anti-racist educational materials and processes. After retiring from teaching, I studied at the Toronto School of Art and completed a Visual Arts Diploma Program in 2003. I’ve also taken courses at Central Technical School […]