Nicholls, Lourdes (4/26/2021)

Nicholls, Lourdes (4/26/2021)

Lourdes Nicholls is a fourth-generation Japanese American born and raised in California. Her maternal grandfather, Kiyotsugu Tsuchiya was one of the few Japanese Americans in the Chicagoland area prior to World War II, and after completing his education at the Art Institute of Chicago, worked as a museum curator for George Harding, Jr.. After George Harding, Jr. passed away in 1939, the family moved to Los Angeles. Shortly following their move, they were incarcerated at Manzanar, where Lourdes’ mother was born, and her grandfather served as the Director of the Visual Education Museum. Lourdes herself was born in Culver City, California, and grew up in Northern California. Following her graduate studies, she moved to Chicago, and although she had never previously lived here herself, she found herself connected to the city through her family’s personal ties. Through a series of coincidences she was connected with a museum curator currently at the Art Institute, and was able to contribute to an exhibit that held the same arms and armor that were once worked on by her grandfather. An active member of the Nikkei community, Lourdes continues to share her family history and legacy, and is a part of Nikkei Uprising.

2021-04-26

video

Ueunten, JJ

Nicholls, Lourdes

Yonsei

Harding, George

Tsuchiya, Kiyotsugu

Manzanar

Block 20

Visual Education Museum

Pre-WWII Chicago

5900