British Columbia

Ashley Sugimoto

Ashley Sugimoto is a yonsei (fourth-generation), mixed-race Japanese Canadian filmmaker operating on the unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories. Her work is driven by her mixed roots and explores mixed identity, and intergenerational trauma within diaspora communities. She graduated with a BFA in film production from Simon Fraser University In 2018. In […]

Luka Kawabata

Nikkei-Canadian artist, Luka Kawabata 川端ルカ has quickly established himself within Canadian opera. As a baritone and producer, he strives to push the boundaries of representation in opera through the creation of new works. Luka is a recent graduate of the Yulanda M Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera, the Digital Emerging Artist Residency (Manitoba […]

Taka Sudo

Born and raised in Tokyo, now residing in Vancouver Canada. Taking influences from those totally different environment to create the unique style of artworks.

Kevin Takahide Lee

Yonsei, Kevin Takahide Lee is a firm believer that the arts must be interwoven with social needs. After graduating from UBC and UWO in opera and voice performance, he has been involved with productions focused on bringing attention to IBPOC stories. For over a decade Takahide-san has portrayed Japanese Canadian veteran Zennosuke Inouye with the […]

Mia Hope

Mia Hope (b. 2001) is an emerging interdisciplinary artist, photographer, writer and performer based on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. As a biracial Japanese-Canadian, she takes on a cross-cultural and feminist framework in her studies and craft. She is interested in cultural liberation, inclusivity and diversity for […]

Eiji Yoshikawa

Writer. Fighter (professional boxer). Filmmaker. Inspirational Speaker. Film Historian. Action Instructor for Movies. Peace Activist.

Kunio Yamagishi

Born in Fukushima, Japan, and after the university education, I moved to Canada and worked at the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto as a researcher. I then worked in Toronto, Tokyo, and New York, as an investment banker and now live in British Columbia, Canada, as a Canadian citizen. My publications have included short […]

Ken Mizokoshi

Ken Mizokoshi is a professional photographer who was born and raised in Nagasaki, Japan. He was a staff photographer and a reporter for Japan’s national newspaper The Asahi Shimbun for 25 years. As a photographer, he covered both the daily news, such as emergency situations and special events, as well as human-interest stories. One of […]

Yukari Oyama Peerless

Yukari is a multi-talented creative based in Victoria, BC, with a passion for bridging the gap between Japanese and Canadian cultures. She is a writer, interpreter, podcaster, watercolor artist, and Japanese Cultural Consultant, and has been helping to connect the two cultures since moving from Nagasaki, Japan to Victoria in 1998. As the owner of […]

Jennifer Aoki

Jennifer Aoki (she/her) is a Japanese Canadian performance and emerging choreographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She is inspired by the infinite possibilities of human movement, and she strives to build meaningful connections through her creative work. Her work celebrates the intersectionality of her identities […]

Bradley Kurushima

Prince Shima is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and third generation Japanese-Canadian based in Victoria BC. By the age of 12 he was writing and performing original compositions live. He has fronted several punk, hardcore and indie bands that have toured throughout North America. As early as 14 he started producing experimental music on a cassette 4-track. […]

Jennifer Spence

Jennifer Spence is a multiple award-winning actor known for her regular roles on You Me Her, Travelers and Continuum. Born in Toronto to a Japanese Canadian mother and British Canadian father, she studied at the prestigious National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal before landing in Vancouver where she began her career in film and […]

PJ Patten

PJ Patten is a self-taught graphic illustrator, tattoo artist, and poet whose work is influenced by the intersection of his Japanese heritage with his American military upbringing. Patten’s parents met in Japan where his father was stationed, and the family was raised in Huntington Beach, California where he started airbrushing surfboards in the popular surfing […]

Steve Oka

Oka is a Sansei, raised in southern Ontario from the 70s to mid 90s. He is honoured to work on the unceded, ancestral and traditional lands of the shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation and the Skwxwu7mesh Uxwumixw (Squamish Nation). Oka studied at Queens University in Kingston gaining a degree in Sociology. He furthered his education through the […]

Natalie Murao

Natalie Murao is a Japanese Canadian director, writer, and creative storyteller. She aims to expand the notion of Asian diasporic cinema by creating an in-betweenness of styles that embody the diaspora itself. A BFA graduate of Simon Fraser University, she has received mentorship from Sundance Ignite, VIFF Catalyst, and Experimental Forest Films. Her short films […]