Casa exhibit explores Japanese Garden

By Lethbridge Herald on July 9, 2025.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman "What We Carried" by Kiyomi Scoville can be found in the main gallery at Casa as part of the "Re: Turning the stories" exhibition.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
LETHBRIDGE HERALD

The Gallery at Casa is featuring works from 42 artists who have engaged in a year-long exploration of Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, and it expands throughout both floors and all gallery spaces at Casa.  

“Nikka Yuko – Re: Turning the Stories”, is a major multidisciplinary exhibition running until Aug. 23, that emerged as a collaboration between Casa, Nikka Yuko and the Nikkei Memory Capture Project.

Darcy Logan, curator and gallery services manager at Casa shares that over the past year, artists created work that tells the stories of Nikka Yuko and the experiences of Japanese Canadians in southern Alberta for this exhibition. 

“The various artists spent time going through historical archives and working on site at the Japanese Garden in order to tell their stories and the stories of the Japanese community in southern Alberta,” says Logan. 

He adds that he believes it is important to tell the rich and poignant history of the Japanese people that were here in southern Alberta as immigrants and later forcefully relocated here during the Second World War. 

“The stories are not told a lot through the arts, so I was really excited to have the opportunity to share those narratives with the community and specially working with the Nikkei Memory Capture Project,” says Logan. 

He explains that the Nikkei Memory Capture Project is a collaboration between the University of Lethbridge and the University of Plymouth in England, where they have been gathering oral history about Japanese people and they provided that information to the artists to work with for the exhibition. 

Logan adds that artists were given a lot of latitude in regards of which medium to use to express themselves, their connection to the garden or in a more personal way. 

“Some chose to talk about their own personal sense of connection with the Japanese Garden and do paintings of the topography there, while other artists of Japanese descent, talked about what the garden symbolize in a larger facet as a memorial to the experiences of the Japanese people in the region,” says Logan. 

Since the exhibition is in part highlighting the beauty of the Japanese Garden, Logan says visiting the gallery can enhance their experience while visiting the garden or vice versa. 

“They can come to Casa and then go back to the garden and maybe have a time to reflect on what the garden mean and the history of why it’s such an institution in our community,” says Logan. 

Established in 1967, Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden is not only a symbol of cross-cultural friendship—its name blending elements of Japan (Ni), Canada (Ka), and Friendship (Yuko)—but also a living reflection of the Nikkei experience in southern Alberta. From early 20th-century settlers to communities displaced during World War II, to resilient individuals who chose to remain and rebuild, the Garden is a monument to history, place, and belonging.

“Re:Turning the Stories” invites visitors to consider how art, memory, and place intersect—how spaces like Nikka Yuko are shaped not only by design, but by the people, experiences, and legacies that move through them.

“There is a variety of mediums by over 40 different artists, most of them local, but also some artists from across western Canada. You will see a variety of media like fibres, textile, ceramic, painting and drawing through to video,” says Logan. 

He adds that while visitors walk through the gallery, they also have an opportunity to hear first-hand accounts from the audio archives of the Nikkei Memory Capture Project. 

“There is a piece called ‘What We Carried’ by Kiyomi Scoville, who is a young artist that recently graduated from the University of Lethbridge Art program,” says Logan. 

He explains that her family was forcefully relocated during WWII and people were allowed to carry one suitcase when they had their homes and boats stolen and her piece reflects that. 

“She used actual clothing that her family brought with them and put it into this old suitcase, on which she has painted a panoramic of the Japanese Garden,” says Logan.