NEWS & EVENTS

Events


2024 Topaz Pilgrimage

May 2-4, 2024

The Friends of Topaz Museum announces May 2-4, 2024 as the date of our 2024 Topaz Art Pilgrimage, to pay tribute to the 10,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated at the WWII American concentration camp at Topaz and to explore the legacy of the artists of Topaz.

The pilgrimage will be held in conjunction with the groundbreaking exhibition, Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo, curated by ShiPu Wang and presented by the Japanese American National Museum that premiers at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA). The exhibit will tour nationally from 2024-2027, opening on February 24 at UMFA in Salt Lake City, UT.

On May 2 & 3 in Salt Lake City, we will offer tours and presentations highlighting Topaz artists, as well as the extensive Japanese American history of Salt Lake City and environs. On Saturday May 4, bus transportation will be available from Salt Lake City to Delta for a day trip to the Topaz Museum and the Topaz site. Guided tours to specific barrack locations may be reserved.

Registration for the Pilgrimage opens in February 2024 and will require some fees. Please visit the Friends of Topaz Museum website for more information.

Past Pilgrimages and Reunions
We would love to feature photos from past Topaz Pilgrimages and Reunions! Please contact us if you have digital items to share.

Wakasa Monument


The Topaz Museum Board is working on a strategy to determine the future of the Wakasa Monument. Implementation of recommendations from the National Park Service and stone conservator John Lambert are nearly complete. Future planning issues include: permanent location, interpretation, and budgeting. The Wakasa Monument is currently sheltered in the Topaz Museum courtyard after being relocated from the Topaz site in 2021.

Topaz Community Outreach Project


The Topaz Community Outreach Project’s public outreach project was a national community survey to submit ideas and opinions on the future of the Wakasa Monument and ways to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the killing of James Hatsuaki Wakasa. The Project launched in June 2022 and involved multiple engagement and communication approaches. The primary methods for public engagement were in-person and virtual meetings, and an online survey. Each of these efforts is summarized in the final report which can be downloaded HERE.

In total more than 450 community members participated in one or more project activities.

Topaz Times Newsletter


Topaz Times Newsletter 2023
Topaz Museum exterior

Photo: Brian Buroker

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