Museums in Houses
The big question for Episode 5 is, “Why are there museums in houses?” Ava, Lesley and Sue talk to Johnny and Darren who work at Historic Joy Kogawa House, a museum in a house. At the time of recording, Johnny Trinh was Executive Director and Darren Ragoonath, the Heritage Interpreter at the house.
So, who is Joy Kogawa and why is there a museum in her house? Joy is a Canadian writer of Japanese descent.
She writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction
She is also an activist. She worked with many others to get an apology and compensation from Canadian Government for how unfairly they treated Japanese Canadians and Canadians of Japanese descent during the Second World War.
In this episode, Johnny and Darren talk about the Historic Joy Kogawa House, its past, how it came to be and how the house is used today. They talk a little bit about other museums where they worked or visited. Because Joy Kogawa was interned as a child with her family, we also discuss the Japanese internment.
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