Informed by over 30 interviews with Japanese women who moved to the UK since 1945, Tsunagu/Connect: The Exhibition gives an insider’s view of what life was like for these fearless pioneers.

Taking place in our Council Chamber as part of Tsunagu/Connect Live, this exhibition exploring themes of culture, preconceptions, and belonging, revealing the joys and struggles, triumphs and hardships of creating a new life in a foreign land. Their stories will amaze, shock and entertain, upending tired stereotypes of Japanese women.

Featuring personal objects and interactive audio, this exhibition is an intimate glimpse into the worlds of these women and poses a vital question: “What price must we pay to create a third space, neither one nation nor the other, where we finally have room to be ourselves?”

This exhibition is open to the general public, no booking is required.

Opening hours are:

Tuesday 26 April, 10am-3pm
Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 April, 10am-12pm
Friday 29 and Saturday 30 April, 10am-2pm

To fully interact with the exhibition, we ask that you bring a smartphone with compatible headphones. For our COVID-19 Safety Measure, click here.

If you would like to experience the performance Tsunagu/Connect Live, you can book tickets here.

To read more about Tsunagu/Connect and the oral history portion of the project, please visit the New Earth Theatre website.

Tsunagu/Connect was made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England. Supported by The Japan Society, Museum of London, artsdepot, London Metropolitan Archives, Goldsmiths University of London, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and Shoreditch Town Hall.