Haruko Okano
A Canadian multidisciplinary artist, poet, and activist whose work explores identity, cultural hybridity, and community through diverse media.
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Life and Heritage
Early Life and Identity
Haruko Okano was born on March 26, 1945, in Toronto, Ontario. She is a 'Sansei' (third-generation) Japanese Canadian. Her formative years were marked by significant personal challenges, including parental disputes over custody, periods in foster care, and the loss of her mother at age nine. These experiences led to her becoming a permanent ward of the Children's Aid Society and living in various foster homes, where she endured psychological and sexual abuse. Crucially, this period resulted in her estrangement from her Japanese cultural heritage, a theme that would later profoundly influence her artistic practice.[1][3][4]
Education and Community Roots
Okano pursued formal artistic training, graduating with honors from Central Technical School in Toronto in 1972. She further honed her skills by studying print production at Vancouver Community College in 1980.[6][7] Since 1993, Okano has been a resident of the China Creek Housing Co-op in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Her commitment to community well-being was highlighted in 2013 when she publicly advocated against the closure of the Federal Co-operative Housing Program, which provides essential rental subsidies.[8][9]
Artistic Practice
Multidisciplinary Approach
Haruko Okano is recognized for her versatile engagement across numerous artistic disciplines. Her practice encompasses painting, sculpture, site-specific installation, performance art, mixed media, and textual works. A distinctive characteristic of her art is the incorporation of found materials and natural elements, such as stones, leaves, branches, and even living spores and fungi, reflecting a deep connection to ecological themes.[10]
Themes of Identity and Hybridity
A central and recurring motif in Okano's oeuvre is the exploration of cultural and linguistic hybridity. Literary critic Eva Darias-Beautell notes that Okano's work consistently addresses the complexities of cultural identity, particularly within the Canadian context. Her art often delves into the challenges and possibilities inherent in seeking modes of expression that transcend normative boundaries, speaking directly to the experiences of the diasporic subject.[12] Her thematic concerns also extend to issues of race, sexuality, and gender.[11]
Community-Based Facilitation
Okano is highly regarded for her collaborative, community-based artistic practice. In these projects, she often assumes the role of an artistic facilitator, guiding initiatives that involve diverse stakeholders and participants from outside the conventional art world. This approach emphasizes shared creation and public engagement, embedding her artistic endeavors within the broader social fabric.[13]
Select Works
Mount Pleasant Community Fence (1994)
In collaboration with artists from the grunt gallery, Okano initiated this public art project in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Community members were invited to design and hand-carve hundreds of red-cedar pickets, which were then used to construct a local fence. This project transformed a boundary into a symbol of collective effort, neighborhood beautification, and the creation of a sustainable community space.[16][17]
High(bridi) Tea (1998–2001)
This significant performance and installation piece was a collaboration with poet Fred Wah, developed during residencies at the Banff Centre. The work critically examined themes of cultural hybridity, contamination, and race through hybridized languages. For the performance, Okano and Wah served guests tea and bread printed with words and phrases related to cultural displacement. They shared personal recollections of growing up as cultural and racial hybrids in Canada, using elements like kombucha fungus-printed napkins and mold-stamped bread to convey complex ideas.[18]
San Augustine Suite (2009)
During an artist residency in San Augustine, Mexico, Okano embarked on a daily walk to her studio. Along this route, she collected various local materials, including seed pods, flowers, grasses, and discarded items. These scavenged elements were then meticulously combined into a series of mixed-media sculptures, each serving as a tangible record of her physical journey and the specific location, capturing the essence of her perambulations.[19]
Select Collections
Awards and Recognition
VIVA Award Recipient
In recognition of her significant contributions to the arts, Haruko Okano was honored with the prestigious VIVA Award from the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation in the year 2000. This award acknowledges her sustained artistic excellence and impact.[7]
References
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Haruko Okano. Japanese Canadian Artists Directory. 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2019-03-09. https://japanesecanadianartists.com/artist/haruko-okano/
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Okano, Haruko. Come Spring: Journey of a Sansei. North Vancouver: Gallerie Publications, 1992. p. 10. ISBN 9781895640007.
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Okano, Haruko. Come Spring: Journey of a Sansei. North Vancouver: Gallerie Publications, 1992. p. 7. ISBN 9781895640007.
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Darias-Beautell, Eva. "The Unresolved Spaces of Diasporic Desire: An Interdisciplinary Critique of Haruko Okano's Work". Atlantis, vol. 36, no. 2, December 2014, p. 190.
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Laurence, Robin. "Haruko Okano: Hands of the Compassionate One". An Open Book (City of Surrey), 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2019. https://www.surrey.ca/files/Okano1.pdf
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Okano, Haruko. "Irezumi of the West Nursery Rhyme for a Lost Childhood". The Capilano Review, Fall 1991 / 2.6&7, p. 198.
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Ressler, Susan R., ed. Women Artists of the American West. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2003. p. 327. ISBN 9780786464388.
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Sherlock, Tracy. "Co-op Assistance Hits Subsidy Snag". Vancouver Sun, June 1, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2025. https://vancouversun.com/business/affordability/co-op-assistance-hits-subsidy-snag
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Pemberton, Kim. "Co-op Residents Seek Help: Thousands of Low-Income Families to Lose Federal Subsidies". Vancouver Sun, April 16, 2013, p. A6.
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Boddy, Trevor. "The Emma Lake Effect: How Did Art Classes at a Camp in Saskatchewan Prolong the Reign of Abstract Expressionism? Is Ken Lum China's Clement Greenberg? And What Does This Have to Do with the VAG? Your Questions Answered". Vancouver Sun, September 2, 2000, p. E3.
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Scott, Michael. "Two Win VIVA Awards". Vancouver Sun, March 22, 2000.
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Darias-Beautell, Eva. "The Unresolved Spaces of Diasporic Desire: An Interdisciplinary Critique of Haruko Okano's Work". Atlantis, vol. 36, no. 2, December 2014, p. 183.
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About | Looking At The Garden Fence. www.lookingatthegardenfence.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24. https://www.lookingatthegardenfence.com/about.html
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Looking at the Garden Fence. Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver. Retrieved 2022-03-24. https://www.contemporaryartgallery.ca/events/looking-at-the-garden-fence/
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Gabriola artists-in-residence to 'listen to the land' as they create new work. Nanaimo News Bulletin, 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-24. https://www.nanaimobulletin.com/entertainment/gabriola-artists-in-residence-to-listen-to-the-land-as-they-create-new-work/
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Community Fence. covapp.vancouver.ca. Retrieved March 9, 2019. https://covapp.vancouver.ca/PublicArtRegistry/ArtworkDetail.aspx?ArtworkId=320&FromArtworkSearch=False
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Steil, John; Stalker, Aileen. Public Art in Vancouver: Angels Among Lions. TouchWood Editions, 2009. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-894898-79-9.
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Daniher, Colleen Kim. "Forgetting Asian Canadian Experimental Performance: Haruko Okano and Fred Wah's High(bridi)Tea". Canadian Theatre Review, vol. 174, Spring 2018, p. 14. DOI: 10.3138/ctr.174.003. S2CID 149525345. https://doi.org/10.3138/ctr.174.003
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Devoy, Melanie. "Andante Teachers' Guide". Richmond Art Gallery, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2019. https://www.richmondartgallery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Teachers_Guide_Andante.pdf
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Heritage and Culture. Canada Council Art Bank. Retrieved March 9, 2019. https://artbank.ca/art-piece/the-gift-of-heritage-and-culture-from-come-springjourney-of-a-sansei/
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Exit Art "Reactions" exhibit collection. Library of Congress. Retrieved March 9, 2019. http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/eadxmlpnp/html/pp004001.htm
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Haruko Okano. Surrey Art Gallery. Retrieved March 9, 2019. https://www.surrey.ca/search.aspx?q=okano
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