KYCC’s Executive Director Johng Ho Song was featured in the ‘Transcendients: Heroes at Borders,’ a contemporary art exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum by celebrated multi-media artist Taiji Terasaki.
Transcendients: Heroes at Borders honors individuals who advocate and fight for those who face discrimination, prejudice, and inequality at borders both physical or psychological. Through video projections on mist, photographic weavings, and audience participation, visitors to this multimedia exhibition are invited to learn about, reflect on, and celebrate heroes in Los Angeles, across the nation, and within their own lives.
“I wanted to celebrate the individuals of the past and present who have fought and stood up for justice and righteous practice. I wanted to find reassurance that there are communities of individuals who are fighting for those who desperately need empathy, compassion, and justice. These are the heroes who speak for the voiceless, the disenfranchised, and those on the boundaries of society—its borders, physical or psychological.
These individuals I think of as “Transcendients”—elegant and spiritual examples of the human spirit that will move us forward to the brilliance of humankind,”said artist Taiji Terasaki.
Taiji Terasaki is a Japanese-American artist based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Terasaki has spent more than 30 years exploring avant-garde innovations in his craft, working in photography, sculpture, immersive and large-scale installations, and pioneering mediums like mist projections as canvas. His cutting-edge presentations are often juxtaposed by the subjects of cultural and environmental conservation, preservation, and restoration.
Johng Ho has been the Executive Director of KYCC since 1999. He started his career at KYCC as a counselor after graduating from UCLA with a degree in Psychology in 1985. Under Johng Ho’s leadership, KYCC’s programs have expanded to nine different sites across central Los Angeles, and its annual operating budget has grown to more than $9 million. Our agency has thrived under his leadership and his multicultural vision for our programs and services, and we are so proud to see his three decades of service honored and captured so beautifully by artist Taiji Terasaki. If you would like to see the exhibit in person, please visit the Japanese American National Museum now until March 29, 2020.
