Documentary Photographer and Journalist Kayla Isomura Explores Nikkei Culture and Identity

Kayla Isomura may be best known for their work on The Suitcase Project (2018), a multimedia exhibition which explored themes of home, sudden dislocation, and discrimination experienced by fourth- and fifth-generation Japanese Canadians and Americans. As a fourth-generation Japanese and Chinese Canadian storyteller, artist, documentary photographer, and journalist, Isomura (them/they) has delved into creative projects and community work to explore Nikkei culture and identity.
The Suitcase Project
To create this project, Isomura asked fourth- and fifth-generation Japanese Canadians and Japanese Americans what they would pack if they were uprooted from their homes at a moment’s notice. Isomura then photographed …