Join us for an engaging gallery talk with Linda Hattendorf, the director of the 2006 award-winning documentary The Cats of Mirikitani, alongside Dr. Maki Kaneko, Associate professor in the KU Art History Department, and Dr. Kris Ercums, SMA curator. The Cats of Mirikitani sheds light on the life and art of Japanese American artist, Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani (1920-2012) who was trained as a painter in Japan, experienced incarceration during the Second World War, and made paintings and collages on the streets of New York City from the mid1980s onward. Throughout filming, Hattendorf formed a profound friendship with Mirikitani, eventually becoming his lifelong friend and guardian.  

Kaneko and Ercums are in the process of co-curating a major retrospective exhibition of Mirikitani. They will engage in a conversation with Hattendorf seeking her insights into Mirikitani’s artistry by focusing on his art that has recently entered the Spencer Museum Collection.   

The Gallery talk is part of a special event that also includes a screening of The Cats of Mirikitani followed by a Q&A with Hattendorlf. The film screening will take place between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. in SMA 211 (please use the west door to enter, not through the main entrance of the Museum). For more details about the film screening, please visit the KU Calendar.

About the Speaker

Linda Hattendorf is an award-winning documentary film director and editor. She directed and co-produced the feature documentary The Cats of Mirikitani which won the audience award at its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, garnered more than 30 awards at national and international festivals, and was broadcast nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens. Most recently she edited Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story, which premiered at DOCNYC, the largest documentary film festival in the US.  Over the past 3 decades her work has been screened on PBS, A&E, TCM, The Sundance Channel, and in theatrical venues and festivals worldwide. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and holds degrees in Literature, Art History, and Media Studies. 

Part of the Global Asia Speaker Series