News

MONTEREY, CA (OCTOBER 15, 2025)—As part of a national tour organized by the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo will be on view at Monterey Museum of Art (MMA) from February 5–April 19, 2026. The exhibition introduces the public to three trailblazing Japanese American women, whose artwork and life stories expand our understanding of both California Art and the American experience. Curated by Dr. ShiPu Wang, Coats Family Chair in the Arts and Professor of Art History, University of California, Merced, the exhibition spans eight decades and reveals the range and depth of these artists' bodies of work, connections that have been previously unexplored, and includes many pieces on view to the public for the first time.

MMA is the fourth and final traveling venue for Pictures of Belonging before its final stop at JANM in late 2026. By taking the exhibition to locations that are connected with the artists' histories—such as Utah where Hibi and Okubo were incarcerated during World War II, and the Monterey Peninsula, where Hayakawa lived briefly before the war—the exhibition leverages the power of place to create public programming opportunities tailored to local residents and histories.

Corey Madden, MMA Executive Director, notes, "We are honored to partner with JANM to highlight these three accomplished artists, who were among the most visible and critically acclaimed Japanese American female artists of their time. Miki Hayakawa herself lived in Monterey and Pacific Grove in the 1930s, so it is especially meaningful that the Museum was chosen as a venue for this nationally touring exhibition."

Hisako Hibi (1907–1991), Study for a Self-Portrait, c. 1944

Hayakawa, Hibi, and Okubo were among the most active American artists of Japanese descent in the years leading up to World War II. Yet all three were forced from their homes in California upon Executive Order 9066. The federal government imprisoned Hibi and Okubo in incarceration camps, first at Tanforan in Northern California and later at Topaz in Utah, while Hayakawa relocated to New Mexico. While relatively short, the period of incarceration had an intensely impactful influence on the artists' broader stories. However, rather than focusing exclusively on the period of incarceration, Pictures of Belonging chronicles the artists' prewar, wartime, and postwar art practices and widens the historical lens to illustrate how these women continued to evolve, with their art illustrating stories of resilience, beauty, and connection.

Miné Okubo (1912–2001), Boy, Goat, Fruit, before 1972

Madden continues, "Through his scholarship, Dr. ShiPu Wang, Coats Family Chair in the Arts and Professor of Art History, University of California, Merced, sheds new light on American art and cultural history. Of special note, while researching, Dr. Wang discovered a major painting by Miki Hayakawa in the Museum's permanent collection. As a result, MMA's Untitled (young man playing ukulele) has toured the United States and soon will be on view again in Monterey."

Building upon themes from Pictures of Belonging as well as the power of place, MMA will present Celebrating California Art: Artistic Alliance in Monterey, 1942–1946, a focused exhibition featuring artists from the Monterey Peninsula who witnessed the injustice of their fellow citizens losing their property, and then being forcibly removed and imprisoned. The exhibition will also include the rarely exhibited 1945 Monterey Petition: A Democratic Way of Life for All, which advocated for the safe return of Japanese Americans to their homes. Artistic Alliance in Monterey will be on view from January 9–April 26, 2026.

Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art. In addition, this project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

MMA is grateful to Season Patron Suzanne Taunt. Additional support for Pictures of Belonging is provided by the Jim and Diane Coward Family Trust and the Tanimura Foundation. Support for Artistic Alliance in Monterey is provided by Judith Marshall.

Image Credits: Miki Hayakawa (1899–1953), Untitled (young man playing ukulele), c. 1934–1936, oil on canvas, 20 x 26 in. (50.8 x 66.04 cm). Monterey Museum of Art. Gift of Mateo Lettunich, 2004.062. Hisako Hibi (1907–1991), Study for a Self-Portrait, c. 1944, oil on canvas, 21 3/4 × 17 1/2 in. Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of Ibuki Hibi Lee, 99.63.1. Miné Okubo (1912–2001), Boy, Goat, Fruit, before 1972, acrylic on canvas, 60 × 51 in. Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties in the Riverside Community College District, Gift of the Miné Okubo Estate, Riverside, California, 2016.1.34, Photo by Tom Callas.