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Home / Neighborhood / San Gabriel Valley / Arcadia Weekly / Life Interrupted: Personal Sketches Behind Barbed Wire, Santa Anita, Summer 1942, Riyo Sato (1913 – 2009)

Life Interrupted: Personal Sketches Behind Barbed Wire, Santa Anita, Summer 1942, Riyo Sato (1913 – 2009)

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The Museum will display never-before-seen sketches by Riyo Sato. Riyo was forced to leave her home in Palo Alto, California on May 26, 1942 and was interned at the Santa Anita Japanese Assembly Center, built on the grounds of Santa Anita Park. From there, she and her family were removed to Heart Mountain Relocation Center near Cody, Wyoming. Riyo was educated at the California College of the Arts (formerly California College of Arts and Crafts) in Oakland, California, and completed her Bachelor Degree in Art Education in 1940. During the relocation experience at the Santa Anita Assembly Center, Riyo continued sketching, to keep her skills sharp. At Heart Mountain Relocation Center, she worked as an art instructor in the school. After the war, she earned her Master’s Degree in Design and Art Education at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, and worked for over 30 years teaching art to junior and high school students.

Her quick sketches offer a glimpse of everyday life in the early stages of the internment experience, a dark time in American’s history. They will be on exhibit along with biographical information and photographs of Riyo. This exhibit was made possible by her family.

The opening reception for this incredible display will be on September 14 at 1:00 p.m. This temporary exhibit will be on display until November 2.

For more information, please call (626) 574.5440 or visit the Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage website at http://museum.ci.arcadia.ca.us . You can now also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. The Gilb Museum of Arcadia Heritage is located at 380 W. Huntington Dr. in Arcadia.

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