Description

Explore Sheila Levrant de Bretteville’s Omoide No Shotokyo “Remembering Old Little Tokyo.” The $95,000 installation was initiated by the CRA/LA as part of the Little Tokyo Historic District Street Improvement project, which also upgraded utilities and decreased sidewalk widths. In keeping with the agency’s Art Policy, De Bretteville was selected to serve as lead artist by a jury of community representatives and artists. De Bretteville’s work was compelling because it dealt with the complexities of the multigenerational identities present in the community.

However, the committee encouraged de Bretteville to collaborate with two other finalists, Sonya Ishii and Nobuho Nagasawa. Ishii had proposed to incorporate sketches of various types of wrappings or containers, known as “tsutsumi.” De Bretteville incorporated Ishii’s tsutsumi sketches into the sidewalk element of her piece. Nagasawa’s proposal, “Toyo Miyatake’s Camera,” is permanently installed at the Eastern end of Remembering Old Little Tokyo.