9th Speaker Series: September 27, 2023
“Rebooting Memories” ~ Enhancing Empathy through Colorized Photos of Hiroshima~
Conversation with Anju Niwata, a CIF alumna from Hiroshima
Introduction
On September 27th 2023, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies hosted a speaker series featuring Anju Niwata. Anju Niwata is a 4th year undergraduate student at the University of Tokyo and a Critical Issues Forum (CIF) Alumna. She participated in the CIF conference in 2018 as a representative of Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School.
Her speech titled “Rebooting Memories” Enhancing Empathy through Colorized Photos of Hiroshima, discussed her process of colorizing photos of Hiroshima from the time of WWII using AI technology as well as consulting Hibakusha, atomic bombing survivors. Her work has been featured in exhibitions, a music video and also compiled in an award-winning book. Her seminal work titled, Rebooting Memories of Prewar & War Through Colorized Photographs in Collaboration with AI and Human, co-authored with Professor Hidenori Watanave of the University of Tokyo, contains 355 colorized photographs. Her work has warmed the hearts of not only those whose memories she revived, but also those who have inherited those memories.
Anju Shares Her Presentation with a Packed Room
In addition MIIS/CNS students and staff, this event welcomed over 20 students and teachers from local high schools including Santa Catalina School and Monterey High School. These two schools, longtime friends of CNS, have been participating in CIF activities for the past several years. The event was conducted in a hybrid format, with over 30 remote participants including students and teachers from the Rock University High School in Wisconsin, one of the most active CIF schools, as well as students in Pakistan.
The event started with an opening statement from CNS Senior Project Manager and Research Associate, Ms. Masako Toki. Ms. Toki gave Anju Niwata a warm welcome and introduced her and her work to the audience.
The Audience Takes a Look at Anju’s Physical Colorized Photos
Anju Niwata’s Speech
Anju’s presentation began with the description of her early introduction to peace education and what started her passion in the field of disarmament. Her interaction with Mr. Tokusho Hamai, an atomic bombing survivor who lost his entire family tragically at the age of 11, sparked her passion. She wanted to colorize his black and white photos in his family album to make him smile because the photo album was the last physical link that he had to his family.
She went on to describe how she continued this work and began to share it with the world. In 2018 her original video won the Student Prize at the United for Peace Film Festival (UFPFF). She discussed her work in the form of a film, she was able to reach a global audience and touch people’s hearts universally.
Anju Discusses her Colorization Process with the Audience
Locally, in her own high school she set up exhibitions of her work and featured her work in cultural festivals. She is delighted to not only share her work with all generations, but to also get feedback from the elders of the Nakajima District which after WWII became the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Because of her work, she was given an exclusive tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Anju’s work continues to diversify its forms beyond only images. She has worked on her “Rebooting Memories AR (augmented reality) app. That way, people can virtually experience pre-war Hiroshima with their smart phones. She also discussed her collaboration with artists, including Hippy, a singer-songwriter from Hiroshima, Kanako Hara, pianist and composer and filmmaker, Kohei Tatsutomi, to produce a stunning music video titled “Color of Memory”.
Click here to view Anju’s full presentation video.
Q&A Session
Her presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session. Students from Monterey High School as well as Santa Catalina School were active participants. The audience had many astute questions about how the youth and the older generations reacted to Anju’s work. Other questions ranged from what sparked Anju’s interest in photography, what are the neurological effects of colorized photos, and how does her work relate to other current conflicts in the world.
Anju Takes a Photo in Front of CNS with Santa Catalina Students
Anju’s Visit to Monterey High School
After the event at CNS, Anju made a visit to Monterey High School. She was able to see the great progress that the Monterey High School CIF students made on their mural project. They started creating the mural this spring for their CIF project, titled “Peace is Our Number One Priority.” To learn more about their CIF project and other schools’ project, read the Spring and Summer Conference reports. Please view Monterey High School’s final project video. The students chose the medium of visual art due to the universality of art. They believe that their mural’s message of peace goes beyond words and can speak to people from all around the world. Anju’s engagement of art in her peace and disarmament promotion resonated with these high school students who are also using visual art to convey the importance of peace.
Anju Observes Monterey High School’s Progress on their Mural
Anju’s visit to Monterey was significant in many ways, including bringing disarmament discussion with a humanitarian perspective to the young generation. She also inspired CIF participants to continue engagement in nuclear disarmament activities even after the completion of CIF. We are honored to see CIF alumna like Anju continue to be a role model as a youth disarmament and nonproliferation advocate.
This year’s CIF project is supported by generous funding by the Tom and Sarah Pattison Fund, the SAGA Foundation, the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation Fund, Mr. Gregg Wolpert and other private donors.
See Anju Niwata’s work featured in the UNODA’s website, and Hiroshima Prefecture’s website
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE EVENT FLYER
