Glowing Earth: A Century of Photography, Immigration and Resilience in Little Tokyo

About

Curatorial Research Assistant: Nicole Coriaty

The artistic community in pre-WWII Little Tokyo was crucial for the shaping of SoCal’s art histories and visual culture. Japanese artists have come together to form collectives, clubs and professional associations, mount exhibitions and launch commercial ventures. While doing so, they chronicled the changing cityscape and the Japanese American community, and have also captured a specific view of California; of concrete and emotional landscapes, experiences of immigration, assimilation, rejection and acceptance. This project therefore begins with Little Tokyo and the photo-based artists that defined its creative genealogy, seeking to outline their impact on artists today, in the neighborhood and beyond.

LACP moved to a new location in October 2023, nestled between Little Tokyo and the Toy District, between the craftsmen, wholesale retailers and the legacy shaped by groundbreaking artists, whose corpus was devalued (and in many ways disregarded) until recent decades.

The street Toyo Miyatake Way is located at the end of our block, a tribute to a photographic pioneer whose work and community involvement changed photography in Los Angeles and, more broadly, the ways in which the American West was captured and imagined. Miyatake owned a photography studio in Little Tokyo and was a prominent member of the artists’ collective Shak-udo-sha, meaning “Glowing Earth society.” Miyatake is credited with supporting Edward Weston and organizing his first exhibition, and his family still runs a photo studio in San Gabriel.

Mike Saijo has been preserving and excavating the photographic histories of Little Tokyo, while adding contemporary vistas of the area and its people. His project includes a collaboration with the estate of Chakashi Tanaka, showing rarely seen glass negatives from the 1920s, scanned and reprinted with artist Yvette Marthell, alongside his recent series of trade cards that focus on Little Tokyo.

Emilene Orozco, the 2025 winner of LACP’s Aline Smithson Next Generation Award, draws on her Mexican heritage to create visual narratives that center marginalized voices and examine the complexities of visibility, power, and cultural memory.​​​​​​​ Orozco’s work begins with the photographic image and extends across disciplines to articulate intimate stories that highlight the sacrifices of those who remain undervalued in American life.

Flora Kao’s cyanotypes nod toward local visual histories, community ritual and the histories of photographic practice, while highlighting the role of shared myth for the shaping of communities and collective voices.

Such stories are interwoven with the creative fabric of Little Tokyo, and, more broadly, to the histories of immigrant communities in Downtown, South and East LA. Glowing Earth also highlights their reciprocal creative relationship and the ways in which such artists reflect on belonging, intergenerational and cross cultural connections.

Features

Glowing Earth: A Century of Photography, Immigration and Resilience in Little Tokyo will feature the following FREE events and happenings:

• Family Portrait Workshop, Saturday, November 22nd, 2025, 3 pm – 4 pm
• In-Person opening reception and Awards Ceremony, Saturday, November 22nd, 2025, 4 pm – 6 pm RSVP HERE.
• Part of the Aline Smithson Next Generation Award.

• Closing Reception: Glowing Earth, January 10, 11am-1pm RSVP HERE

  Join us at LACP for the closing of the group exhibition Glowing Earth: A Century of Photography, Resilience and Immigration in Little Tokyo. 

  Enjoy a walkthrough with exhibiting artists, a discussion about scanning and printing with century old glass negatives and join a photo-walk in collaboration with the Little Tokyo Historical Society of the neighborhood, including Mike Saijo’s public art installation at Azusa St.

  Free with RSVP, suggested donation.

Price Sheet and Instructions for Purchasing Artwork

Download/view price sheet HERE.

Interested in purchasing artwork? Please email info@lacphoto.org and a representative will contact you ASAP.  Thank you!

Questions?

For questions please email info@lacphoto.org