JT4 and Anti-Racism with Hatecopy in London, Ontario

In the wake of the JapanTown projects former Toronto NAJC, director Ken Galloway, a Japanese Canadian, has been on the move. Galloway’s mission as a creator is to lead by example; blending art and politics to create social good as a sustainable lifestyle choice. 

A key objective over the past year was to remember the murders of the Azfaal family in London, Ontario. Eventually the means to this end was a collaboration with South Asian icon Hatecopy (185k Instagram followers), to respond to the London truck attack with art and hope. The Welcome Home text sends a clear message of inclusivity and anti-racism to all Canadians; be they newcomers or multi-generational. The hope is that this mural will emerge as an icon/time-capsule for the city of London, Ontario,

Read the CBC coverage of Galloway’s wet paint initative HERE

JapanTown Projects

The JapanTown Project; was a series of youth-driven initiatives with the aim of preserving Japanese-Canadian culture, foster inter-generational dialogue, and empower young Japanese-Canadians to make positive change in their communities. The project began as a collaborative painting exercise in which creative director Ken Galloway, along with a team of five other young Japanese Canadian artists painted a gigantic mural in downtown Toronto.

Each artist articulated a unique sense of Japanese Canadian identity, while collaboratively giving Japanese-Canadians a physical presence in downtown Toronto; in the absence of a JapanTown.

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of redress and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s formal apology to Japanese Canadians, painting began on a 2-storey high mural on Sanko Trading Co., one of the oldest Japanese-Canadian owned businesses in the city.

Read what the Torontoist had to say about the project: The Story Behind the Japantown Mural

Japantown Project, Year 2 – Matsuri Toronto 2014 – YouTube

At a Yonge-Dundas Matsuri, a live painting performance took place at the city’s busiest intersection. The Toronto NAJC partnered and funded the Japanese Canadian Young Leaders group, the Kurakake group, and over 100 young Japanese Canadians to articulate JC identity using a pop-up photobooth. We also hosted the largest game of janken-pon or rock-paper-scissors ever held in Toronto.

Learn about Japantown 3 at the JCCC