No-No Boy: A Multimedia Concert at JANM

Julian Saporiti and Erin Aoyama

“No-No Boy,” a multimedia concert performed by Julian Saporiti and Erin Aoyama, will be presented on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 Central Ave. in Little Tokyo.

Taking inspiration from interviews with World War II Japanese American incarceration camp survivors, his own family’s history living through the Vietnam War, and many other stories of Asian American experience, Saporiti has transformed his doctoral research at Brown University into folk songs in an effort to bring these stories to a broader audience.

Alongside Aoyama, a fellow Ph.D. student at Brown whose family was incarcerated at one of the 10 Japanese American concentration camps, “No-No Boy” aims to shine a light on experiences that have remained largely hidden in the American consciousness.

In addition to their multimedia concert, Saporiti and Aoyama are often asked to visit college and high school classrooms to put on workshops that explore topics such as immigration, refugees, war, trauma, and how they use art and scholarship to navigate these issues in today’s society.

They are on a national tour that has included University of San Francisco on Oct. 26, Oregon Buddhist Temple on Oct. 20, Wing Luke Museum in Seattle on Oct. 19, MING Studios in Boise on Oct. 16, Whole Music Club in Minneapolis on Oct. 4, Annett Recital Hall at University of Wisconsin-La Crossee on Oct. 3, Midwest Buddhist Temple in Chicago on Sept. 29, and Fredricksen Library in Camp Hill, Pa. on Sept. 25.

A pop-up show will take place on Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. at 341 FSN, 341 E. First St. in Little Tokyo. Upcoming tour dates include Nov. 6 at the New Mexico History Museum, Nov. 10 at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Nov. 12 at Penn State, and Nov. 15 at David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.

Visit the band’s website at http://nonoboyproject.com.

Included with JANM admission. RSVPs are recommended. For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.