A live discussion between artist Norman Takeuchi, and co-curators, Catherine Sinclair, Sachiko Okuda, and Bryce Kanbara

Join us for a live panel discussion linked to Shapes in Between: Norman Takeuchi – A Retrospective, OAG’s current exhibition that highlights the work of Ottawa-based artist Norman Takeuchi.

Featuring an array of drawings, paintings, and prints spanning the years 1961 to 2022, Takeuchi’s works throughout this exhibition demonstrate the continuity of his artistic rigour, and his personal engagement with the impact of the Japanese Canadian internment and forced dispersal during World War II. Shapes in Between reveals decades of Takeuchi’s work that not only demonstrates the result of a skilled and unique artistic practice, but also the artist’s increasingly honest understanding of his own past, and embracing the collective legacy of his community.

In this program, co-curators and contributing authors of the forthcoming exhibition catalogue, Catherine Sinclair, Sachiko Okuda, and Bryce Kanbara will join the artist for a discussion that explores his artistic practice, life story, and relationship to both Canadian and international art scenes.

Please note this event will be in English.

Before the program, be sure to drop in for our special edition Creative Sunday facilitated by the Ottawa Japanese Cultural Centre, in the OAG Studio on Level 0!

Schedule of Events:

10:00 AM – 2PM — Special edition Creative Sunday

2:15 PM — Doors to Alma Duncan Salon (Level 3) open

2:30 PM  — Panel Discussion Begins, followed by Q&A

REGISTER HERE

SPEAKERS:

NORMAN TAKEUCHI, artist
Born in Vancouver, some of his earliest memories are of the interior of BC where his parents were forced to relocate during World War II. Ultimately graduating from the Vancouver School of Art in 1961, Takeuchi went to London, England in 1962 to concentrate on painting, and again in 1967 with a Canada Council grant. In 1996, he left a design profession to begin a new career as a full-time artist. He has since participated in many solo and group exhibitions. His work is represented in permanent collections of the Royal Ontario Museum, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa Art Gallery, Canada Council Art Bank, City of Ottawa, Carleton University Art Gallery, and in private collections in Canada and abroad.

Exhibition Co-Curator and Contributing Author
CATHERINE SINCLAIR is Deputy Director, Chief Curator at the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG). At the OAG since 2006, she has curated work by artists from the Ottawa–Gatineau region, Canada, and beyond, specializing in solo retrospective exhibitions, including the Canadian Heritage–funded, provincially-touring exhibition, Alma: The Life and Art of Alma Duncan (1917–2004) (2014–2016). She is an alum of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme (Gifu-ken, 2001-2002). She has presented at the University Art Association Conference and the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Conference, and has published in The Journal of Curatorial Studies (2018, co-author) and esse arts + opinions (2019). She has participated twice in the AAMC Foundation Engagement Program for International Curators (2017–2019 and 2021–2022).

Exhibition Co-Curator and Contributing Author
SACHIKO OKUDA is a third-generation Japanese Canadian whose parents were interned during World War II. A lifelong volunteer in the Japanese Canadian community and with newcomers to Canada, she was President of the Ottawa Japanese Community Association in the years following the 1988 Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement and again from 2014 to 2018. She is an alum of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme (Kobe-shi, 1992–1993). For more than fifteen years she was co-producer and co-host of the community TV program Contact:Japan. She has contributed to Japanese Canadian–themed exhibitions at the Canadian War Museum, Shenkman Arts Centre, Library and Archives Canada, Carleton University Art Gallery, Nikkei National Museum (Burnaby, B.C.) and Qualicum Beach Museum (Vancouver Island, B.C.). In 2019 she received the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board “Excellence in Equity Community Award” for her literacy work with high-school students.

Exhibition Co-Curator and Contributing Author
BRYCE KANBARA is a visual artist and curator/proprietor of you me gallery, in Hamilton, Ontario. He was a founding member and first Administrator of Hamilton Artists Inc. and has held curatorial positions at Burlington Art Centre, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, and Art Gallery at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (Toronto, Ontario). He was Executive Director of the Toronto Chapter of the National Association of Japanese Canadians; visual arts, crafts and design officer at the Ontario Arts Council; Member of the Governing Council, Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion; and Co-chair of the Board of Directors at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, in Hamilton. In 2021 Bryce received the “Outstanding Contribution Award,” Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.

Graphic | Panelists: Norman Takeuchi (photo: Marion Takeuchi), Catherine Sinclair (photo: André Rozon), Sachiko Okuda (photo: Kayla Isomura); Bryce Kanbara (courtesy of Bryce Kanbara). Artwork: Norman Takeuchi, Meeting Place, 2005, acrylic on canvas, 76.2 x 91.4 cm. Private Collection of Alana Kainz. Photo: Justin Wonnacott.