Instagram story viewer> @traciakemi1> Posts

Traci Akemi Kato-kiriyama

@traciakemi1

3.8K

followers

2007

following

Author, NAVIGATING WITH(OUT) INSTRUMENTS; PULLproject Ensemble; TNProject dir/co-fdr; Nikkei Progressives; WhyWeCant’tWait Coalitn.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Mom passed a week ago today. I have no words today other than the weight of the last week in a world without her measures out about a million pounds of loss. Love you mommi. You are resting now. You are not here. You are everywhere. ❤️ by @traciakemi1

362

150

3 months ago

A week ago today, Ollie was taken from us by two coyotes. We’ll be devastated and heartbroken for a long time/forever, and I believe that at least he did not suffer and he went out as an animal, a cat, the “King baby” that he was, and in the process, saved the young Orange Guy who went out the front door with him.
He was my daily joy for over 16 years. He was @rj.fuji Joycey’s puppy and best buddy. He was our baby.

@shinkawasaki @keikoagena Kennedy Geneva and all the aunties and uncles and Ollie bffs - thank you for all the love. Kennedy especially was the best kitty Uncle ever.
@gregwatanabe - thank you for being his papa for so many years. by @traciakemi1

311

82

a year ago

Thanks, Phil, Jeff, and my bro George. That was a special convo for us ❤️—->>>Repost from @theycallusbruce
•
THEY CALL US PREPARING FOR THE INEVITABLE. @originalspin and @angryasianman welcome their old friends @georgekiriyama and @traciakemi1, siblings who recently lost their mother, Ikuko Kiriyama, to talk about remembrance, grief (or pre-grief), and letting go. They share personal stories of the Kiriyama family’s journey with loss; the role of caregiving and supporting aging parents; the lessons learned from honoring a loved one’s legacy; and the emotional process of letting go and moving forward. Listen/subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. by @traciakemi1

61

0

a month ago

been painting for Ma, searching for Ghosts. by @traciakemi1

43

2

2 months ago

Gah, ya got me. 😭❤️—->Repost from @keikoagena
•
Iku Kiriyama was, as everyone has said, “a force of nature.”

We miss you. This is traci kato-kiriyama’s favorite picture of you. 5 or 6 yrs old. In Manzanar. Defiant and full of purpose.

I thought it was right to put this sticker on a special box that I would see often. It gave me pleasure to think of you watching over something very “useful.” Hahaha…

It gave me even more pleasure knowing there were razor blades in there too. ‘Cuz you were punk rock, Iku. Your influence carries on. We are better as a community because you have been here to shape it.

And TKK. We love you. We think of you and celebrate you too. You are your mother’s daughter. Your muse lives on through you and through your art. ❤️

#GoIku!

@traciakemi1 by @traciakemi1

92

3

2 months ago

taken in Latino Theater Co. at The LATC by @traciakemi1

69

0

3 months ago

SAVE THE DATE 🗓️Join us June 21 for creative conversations on solidarity, legacy, activism, and art with Akemi Kochiyama-Ladson, traci kato-kiriyama + special guests ✨ RSVP Eventbrite link in bio or dm us:

⚡️Akemi Kochiyama-Ladson @a.kochiyama speaking on the Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project @yksolidarityproject which honors Yuri’s legacy and carries on her commitment to bring people together and build cross movement, cross racial solidarity in support of human rights, dignity and self-determination for all oppressed people.

⚡️traci kato-kiriyama @traciakemi1 reading from their book of poetry, Navigating With(out) Instruments, and talking about a new installation-performance-community organizing project linking actions and conversations on provenance, Reparations, solidarity, collective healing, and the reclamation of “items” that are missing/stolen/lost.

✨MFA Design for Social Innovation @svanyc is excited to host this event at the DSI studio, to share projects, engage in conversations, mingle over snacks, and stimulate meaningful interaction and connections among all present.

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/radical-relations-nyc-event-tickets-1990250993297?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true taken in DSI - MFA in Design for Social Innovation by @traciakemi1

137

6

5 months ago

Thank you Tamiko Nimura for spending time with me and one of the big sistah/Sansei BFFs @kathymasaoka in reflective conversation on decades of work to collaborate, co-create, grow, learn and share in…
—-> Repost from @discovernikkei
•
The third in Tamiko Nimura’s “We Who Resist” series features activists traci kato-kiriyama and Kathy Masaoka! They share their backgrounds in resistance work, discuss what motivates them, and who inspires them. They also share the importance of making space for themselves and relying on the community around them for their own well-being, and for the sake of the causes they fight for.⁠
traci curates our monthly “Nikkei Uncovered” poetry column and we 💙 that this 3-part interview brings together frequent Discover Nikkei contributors! Link in bio. 🔗⁠⁠
⁠
—⁠
⁠
タミコ・ニムラさんのシリーズ「We Who Resist（抵抗する私たち）」第３回では、アクティビストのトレイシー・カトウ＝キリヤマさんと、キャシー・マサオカさんを取り上げます。⁠
⁠
お二人に、これまでの活動の歩みやモチベーション、さらには影響を受けた人物について語っていただきました。また、自身の健康を守りながら活動を続けていくために、自分自身の居場所を確保し、コミュニティへ頼ることの大切さについても共有しています。⁠
⁠
トレーシーさんは、ディスカバー・ニッケイで毎月掲載しているシリーズ「ニッケイを見いだす：詩のコラム」のキュレーターを務めています。３回にわたるこのインタビューで、ディスカバー・ニッケイでおなじみのお二人をご紹介できることをうれしく思います！ 💙 プロフィール欄のリンクからぜひご覧ください。🔗⁠⁠
⁠
#activists #CommunityActivism #NCRR #resistance #WeWhoResist @tamikonimura @traciakemi1 @kathymasaoka⁠
⁠ by @traciakemi1

116

1

5 months ago

𝘢ú𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘵í𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘰 / 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥
co-facilitated with traci kato-kiriyama
took place for five hours on the afternoon of May 17, 2026
may its residue continue to guide us
…
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙡𝙮. / 𝙎𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙞ó 𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙤 𝙘𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙟𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙣 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙧.
a solo exhibition by Nicole Rademacher
•
work created during the session will be integrated and installed Friday, May 22 — the exhibition shifts as other histories enter it.
•
LA Artcore | May 16 - June 15, 2026
@laartcore + @traciakemi1 by @traciakemi1

34

0

5 months ago

sunday, 17 may, 2026
•
a space to enter, not arrive
•
your work becomes part of the exhibition
•
applications close may 4, 11:59pm
link in bio
…
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙡𝙮. / 𝙎𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙞ó 𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙤 𝙘𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙟𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙣 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙧.
a solo exhibition by Nicole Rademacher
•
LA Artcore | May 16 - June 15, 2026
@laartcore
@traciakemi1 by @traciakemi1

33

4

6 months ago

We’ll be reading at the annual Lit Fest in the Dena @litfestinthedena this Friday, May 1st from 8:00 - 9:00 PM. Honored to share poetic space with these fellow poetas. @sehbasarwar @iyatundef @traciakemi1 @jemikash

Our poetry panel A Wall Is Just a Wall is inspired by a line in Assata Shakur’s opening poem of her autobiography. “If I know anything at all / It is that a wall is just a wall / And nothing more at all / It can be broken down.”

A member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA) and former Black Panther, Assata was targeted in the 1970s by the FBI’s covert and illegal Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) whose aim was to surveillance, infiltrate, disrupt, and destroy any group, party, or organization, deemed “subversive.” Assata was falsely accused of numerous crimes, vilified in the media, shot twice by police, tortured and eventually sentenced to life in prison by an all-white jury. She not only survived to write about it, she defied white-power and Empire by escaping the carceral system. With the help of members of the Black Revolutionary Army, Assata escaped prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba, where she was eventually granted political asylum and where she lived until her passing on Sept 25, 2025. May we continue to learn from this fierce revolutionary. In our protests, in our poems, and in our struggles for liberation for all oppressed peoples of the world, Assata Shakur beloved and forever presente! by @traciakemi1

69

2

6 months ago

new DOCUMENTARY SHORT about TNC through the eyes of Derek Benig, a filmmaker and TNP staff over the past several years. Come one and all —->>> This SATURDAY May 2, 4:00p - FREE, just rsvp @vcmediaorg

Wooohooo @tnproject ! Congrats @benigfilms and producer @farrah_su - thank you for letting me chime in to encourage a piece that is PERSONAL to YOU, Derek.

Thank you @mrtiangco and @j.sen___ - looking forward to being in conversation with you, Derek, Farrah and @ariellebgood on Saturday!! by @traciakemi1

86

16

6 months ago