Common Ground : The Japanese American National Museum and the Culture of Collaborations

Los Angeles's Japanese American National Museum, established in 1992, remains the only museum in the United States expressly dedicated to sharing the story of Americans of Japanese ancestry. The National Museum is a unique institution that operates in collaboration with other institutions, museums, researchers, audiences, and funders. In this collection of seventeen essays, anthropologists, art historians, museum curators, writers, designers, and historians provide case studies exploring collaboration with community-oriented partners in order to document, interpret, and present their histories and experiences and provide a new understanding of what museums can and should be in the United States. Current scholarship in museum studies is generally limited to interpretations by scholars and curators. Common Ground brings descriptive data to the intellectual canon and illustrates how museum institutions must be transformed and recreated to suit the needs of the twenty-first century. In This Collection Of Seventeen Essays, Anthropologists, Art Historians, Museum Curators, Writers, Designers, And Historians Provide Case Studies Exploring Collaboration With Community-oriented Partners In Order To Document, Interpret, And Present Their Histories And Experiences And Provide A New Understanding Of What Museums Can And Should Be In The United States.--jacket. Introduction: Commitment To Community / Irene Y. Hirano -- Self-creation: Defining Cultural Identity Within Museum Exhibitions / Clement Hanami -- Home Movies: Cultural Recovery And The Value Of Display / Karen L. Ishizuka -- Creating Community One Voice At A Time: Traveling Exhibition Programs That Help Create Community / Cayleen Nakamura -- Expanding The Museum Audience Through Visitor Research / Carol M. Komatsuka -- Community Building Through Fund-raising / Audrey Lee-sung -- Board Development: Fiduciary Responsibility And Collaboration Through Strategic Planning / Frank L. Ellsworth -- The National Partnership Program: A Model For Community Collaborations / Akemi Kikumura-yano -- Coming To Terms: America's Concentration Camps / Karen L. Ishizuka -- Finding Family Stories: Institutional Collaborations / Claudia Sobral -- The Regenerations Project: A Comparative Collaboration In Community Oral History / Darcie C. Iki And Arthur A. Hansen -- Dialogues From Common Ground / Naomi Hirahara -- All Roads Lead To Boyle Heights: Exploring A Los Angeles Neighborhood / Sojin Kim -- History, Current Events, And A Network Link: The Japanese American National Museum And The Arab Community Center For Economic And Social Services / Irene Y. Hirano -- International Exchanges At Museu Histórico Da Imigração Japonesa No Brasil / Masato Ninomiya -- Museum Exhibitions In A Transnational Setting: Collaborations In Education Methodology / Yoshi Miki -- Building Community Through Global Research / Akemi Kikumura-yano, James A. Hirabayashi, And Lane Ryo Hirabayashi. [edited By] Akemi Kikumura-yano, Lane Ryo Hirabayashi, And James A. Hirabayashi. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.