#CIDLoveLetters: Erin Shigaki
Artist Bio
Erin Shigaki creates murals and installations focused on the experiences of communities of color, especially the incarceration of 126,000 people of Japanese ancestry, including her own family. Erin is passionate about highlighting similarities between that history and today’s immigrant crisis, and to other systemic injustices, black and brown people continue to face. Erin is also a community activist with the Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee and Tsuru for Solidarity.
Artist Statement
I wish to make art which reflects my communities. My work includes design, installation, murals, painting, textiles, clay and often focuses on the Asian American experience—especially the World War II incarceration of my Japanese American family and community. Since immigration of Asians began in the mid-19th century and continuing today, the questions ‘who is American?’ and ‘who belongs?’ are asked through a fear-centered lens. I am interested in exploring the act of being seen and belonging in a world that has systemically oppressed people of color and anyone ‘other.’ I believe in sharing stories about moments of beauty, intimacy and resilience under difficult physical and emotional conditions. To tell these stories through art can educate on past mistakes and incrementally heal.
Social Media
Instagram: @purplegatedesign