What to Do on The Weekends

The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II remains a painful episode in American history.

Although 50 years have passed since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in 1942, ordering the incarceration of about 120,000 Japanese-Americans, the memories remain bitter for many who were subjected to the ordeal.

On Saturday, San Pedro artist Yayoi Ailene Shibata will present “By Executive Order,” a series of paintings marking the conclusion of the 50th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066.

Shibata’s paintings will be on exhibit at the Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St. in San Pedro, and are part of the center’s Winter Artwalk 1992. The center will be open from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will feature works by dozens of other local artists as well. There is no charge for admission.

Shibata, who was among those interned at the camps, said her series “By Executive Order” was “painted in remembrance” of the incarceration of Japanese-Americans.

“As an artist and as a Japanese-American who experienced the internment, recalling the years of confinement behind barbed wire was, and still is, a deeply painful and traumatic process,” she said. “I pray it never happens again in America.”

One of her works is titled “Tule Lake”--her family was interned there--which depicts the U.S. flag with barely discernible stars. The anguished face of a young girl emerges in the painting from behind the flag, as if from nowhere.

What: Winter Artwalk 1992 featuring works by Yayoi Ailene Shibata and other San Pedro artists.

When: Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro.

Background: Winter Artwalk will feature a number of artists from the San Pedro community, including Yayoi Ailene Shibata Shibata, who will present “By Executive Order,” a series of works dealing with the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Information: (310) 519-0936.