Ruth Asawa internment camp ID

Born Norwalk, California

Artist and arts education advocate Ruth Asawa was attracted to making art at an early age. In 1942, while being held in a temporary incarceration camp for Japanese Americans in Arcadia, California, she studied drawing and painting with professional artists who were also internees. A year later, Asawa received a scholarship to train as an art teacher. Because postwar prejudice toward Japanese Americans prevented her from finding a student-teaching placement, she was unable to complete her degree. Subsequent art studies at North Carolina’s progressive Black Mountain College encouraged Asawa to become a sculptor. She married, settled in San Francisco and—despite the demands of a growing family—pursued her career as an artist. Her early work showcased her technique for weaving coils of wire to create airy and evocative sculptures. Later, Asawa’s scope expanded to include large-scale public art commissions, such as the Hyatt on Union Square Fountain (1973) in San Francisco.