We’re thrilled to announce Suzanne Hartmann is this year’s recipient of the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) Endowment Fund. Hartmann is a University of King’s College student in her second-year of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction program and editor of Old Sage Hands. She has been awarded the 2020 Sports, Education, Arts Development (SEAD) grant for her MFA project titled Minyō Memories: Celebrating the Postwar Japanese Canadian Community in Toronto. 

The project involves research and writing about the postwar Japanese Canadian community’s cultural and historical contributions to the Toronto landscape. Minyō Memories is told from Hartmann’s perspective as a mixed-heritage, fourth-generation Japanese Canadian (JC), and the work of creative nonfiction incorporates stand-alone personal essays combined with extensive research. This unique next generation story is based on recording her early memories, including participating in minyō (folk dance) at Obon (a summer Buddhist festival), and explores culture and the arts through annual events and traditions specific to the Toronto JC community. 

Established after the historical Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement signed on Sept. 22, 1988, the NAJC Endowment Fund’s SEAD program provides grants to Japanese Canadians furthering their studies and skills in the visual or performing arts, sports, or academic fields. For more information on the grant, please visit the NAJC website: najc.ca.