There is a saying that we die twice:

The first time being our physical death.

The second being when our name is mentioned for the last time.

When You Call My Name is a collaborative community project honouring civilians who were brought from South East Asia, Pacific Islands and across Australia as ‘Japanese aliens’* who died during transport to or within Australian internment camps during WWII. The project invites artists and community members to honour 194 souls through the creation of artworks that feature their name in perpetuity. All 194 artworks will culminate into an installation that will be exhibited online, in a printed catalogue, and a series of exhibitions in Brisbane, Canberra and Perth from 2025-2026.

The workshop invites artists and community members to participate in this project and create an artwork that honours one of the civilian internees from Queensland. Hear from Project Lead and artist Mayu Kanamori to learn about the history of this project, then workshop creative ideas and research leads with Nikkei Australia Chair and artist Elysha Rei. Participants will each 'adopt' an internee to start creating an artwork that includes their name. Finished artworks will need to be completed and submitted to the project by March 2025.

*This project also includes 26 people from Taiwan and one from Korea. They were included with the Japanese because Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula were under the rule of Japan during the Pacific War.

Image credit: Sophie Constable, 'HIGA Denzo', 2024, who was brought to Australia from New Caledonia to be interned during the Pacific War.