American Life: Connected for Sure
Tomoe Tsutsumi (age 28), an artist residing in New York learned about the Japanese earthquake and opened an art exhibit. “I wanted to do something I can do.” She acquired permission from the office of a former part-time job and changed the office into a gallery, inviting donations and displaying works in which the visitors could also participate. The title is “I Tie, Aitai,” which means “I tie, I miss you.” “The people of Japan miss family and friends who were victims of the disaster, and there are also people here in America thinking of Japan. I want to connect everyone.”
Tsutsumi prepared business card-sized envelopes, putting red thread, small bells and handmade Japanese paper inside. Between two t-shirts spread left and right, a great number of red strings pass in between, and visitors include their thoughts and tie on them an envelope and a bell. The exhibit was open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the first day (March 26) and as 9 p.m. approached, visitors gradually trickled out. “After a major earthquake in Taiwan (September 1999), Japan helped,” said a Taiwanese friend while donating money.
Mayuko Okada (age 36), who makes raised cloth pictures from the raw cloth of clothes handed down by her great-grandmother and grandmother, was at the opening of her new one-woman exhibit, “Spring Haze,” in New York when the earthquake happened. Saying that “it’s just a modest contribution,” she worked on adding to her exhibit without sleep, and decided to donate the proceeds from the work. There was also a donation box placed in the assembly hall.
When it was unveiled, audiences breathed a sigh of relief at the brightly colored works. While crying, an American woman said, “10 years ago during 9/11, Japan helped us,” and placed a check in the donation box.
United Nations International School students folded 1000 paper cranes, and for every paper crane that they made, an organization pledged to donate $2. They decided to send this to Japan because of the emotional memories of the 1000 cranes sent from Japan after 9/11.
“Those 1,000 cranes are something we folded.” When an article about UNIS was published on the Internet on March 25, this touched Tokyo metropolitan area resident Sawako Ishihara (age 24). She said that in 2001, when she was a third year student at a Kanagawa Prefecture middle school, she helped make 10,000 paper cranes at a post-9/11 culture festival, which were then sent them to P.S. 234 Independence School.
Anne Luce, who works at P.S. 234, remembered “those 10,000 cranes.” After 9/11, she said they received 10,000 cranes from four schools from all over Japan, and divided them among schools within New York City. The 1000 UNIS cranes are believed to be part of those numbers. Ishihara confirmed this. “Our feeling is that even if 10 years pass, we are still connected.” Connectedness is important. We are all reflecting on this.
Tsutsumi prepared business card-sized envelopes, putting red thread, small bells and handmade Japanese paper inside. Between two t-shirts spread left and right, a great number of red strings pass in between, and visitors include their thoughts and tie on them an envelope and a bell. The exhibit was open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the first day (March 26) and as 9 p.m. approached, visitors gradually trickled out. “After a major earthquake in Taiwan (September 1999), Japan helped,” said a Taiwanese friend while donating money.
Mayuko Okada (age 36), who makes raised cloth pictures from the raw cloth of clothes handed down by her great-grandmother and grandmother, was at the opening of her new one-woman exhibit, “Spring Haze,” in New York when the earthquake happened. Saying that “it’s just a modest contribution,” she worked on adding to her exhibit without sleep, and decided to donate the proceeds from the work. There was also a donation box placed in the assembly hall.
When it was unveiled, audiences breathed a sigh of relief at the brightly colored works. While crying, an American woman said, “10 years ago during 9/11, Japan helped us,” and placed a check in the donation box.
United Nations International School students folded 1000 paper cranes, and for every paper crane that they made, an organization pledged to donate $2. They decided to send this to Japan because of the emotional memories of the 1000 cranes sent from Japan after 9/11.
“Those 1,000 cranes are something we folded.” When an article about UNIS was published on the Internet on March 25, this touched Tokyo metropolitan area resident Sawako Ishihara (age 24). She said that in 2001, when she was a third year student at a Kanagawa Prefecture middle school, she helped make 10,000 paper cranes at a post-9/11 culture festival, which were then sent them to P.S. 234 Independence School.
Anne Luce, who works at P.S. 234, remembered “those 10,000 cranes.” After 9/11, she said they received 10,000 cranes from four schools from all over Japan, and divided them among schools within New York City. The 1000 UNIS cranes are believed to be part of those numbers. Ishihara confirmed this. “Our feeling is that even if 10 years pass, we are still connected.” Connectedness is important. We are all reflecting on this.