When Dreams Are Interrupted will be performed on Sunday, May 25, at 3 p.m. at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) as the closing event for the The Tag Project by sculptural artist Wendy Maruyama, part of a joint exhibit.  
 
When Dreams Are Interrupted is a riveting, site-specific performance that uncovers the profound imprint left on a neighborhood by the forced removal and mass evacuation of Japanese American communities in 1942. Purple Moon Dance Project's artistic director, Jill Togawa, as well as Arisika Razak, Ruth Ichinaga, and Sharon Sato, explore and infuse The Tag Project, drawing out the stories and memories amassed by Maruyama and highlighting local history and stories, both known and newly uncovered.
 
The collaboration between Togawa and Maruyama began when they met and collaborated at the Tule Lake Pilgrimage in 2009.  For the first time, strings of tags with handwritten names of former WRA inmates prepared by Maruyama and community volunteers became part of the staging for the performance of When Dreams Are Interrupted.  This performance was followed by others in San Diego (2011) and Little Rock (2013). The new San Jose performance brings this unique collaboration with The Tag Project to the Bay Area for the first time.
 
The San Jose visual art installation includes three integrated parts: 
 

• Executive Order 9066--wood-mounted sculptures by Maruyama
• The Tag Project--ten, large-scale, hanging paper sculptures with 120,000 identification tags representing everyone who was incarcerated
• Executive Order 9066: Memories and Artifacts--curated and presented at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj)

 
The free event will be held at ICA, 560 South First Street, San Jose. Seating is limited.  Please RSVP by calling (408) 283-8155.  Donations are welcome.  
 
For more information, contact Jill Shiraki at jshiraki@sbcglobal.net.