a founding spirit: returning to our origin story.  5:30pm-7:30pm.

executive director at the armory center for the arts, leslie ito, will moderate a talk story circle that invites participants to share their founding spirit. the phrase founding spirit references the essence, the philosophy, the feeling that is evoked through a certain action, specific interaction or a conscious arrangement. leslie ito believes we don’t need to reinvent ourselves, instead perhaps we need to return to a founding spirit of who we are. leslie believes strongly that if we can identify, articulate and explore that founding spirit, as artists, arts and cultural practitioners and as living culture bearers-- that we can recenter the dialogue, and more importantly, move our rich cultures to the center--dissipating the current dominant culture.

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this event is connected to “seeds of our grandmothers’ dreams” an exhibition at 341 FSN.

“seeds of our grandmothers’ dreams” re-imagines a world blossoming with the unbroken yume our nikkei elders carried across the pacific: before they were forced into american concentration camps.

on october 14 - 28, japanese american women speak (JAWS) will exhibit their art and invite community to decolonize their dreams through a series of storytelling workshops at 341 FSN, 341 E. 1st St., los angeles. “seeds of our grandmothers’ dreams” activates the thriving future of little tokyo—an international community rooted over generations—through a galaxy of intergenerational artists dreaming above ground.

The exhibition is part of an effort by little tokyo service center to help save little tokyo and keep our neighborhood within our own community.