Ignite Your Art Spirit!
Adventures in art, together with children
Pacific Kids Mural Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization. Our organization was established in 2016 to promote mural art and cultural exchange projects for kids and communities around the world.
“Pacific Kids” are the children of different cultures united in peace and harmony.
A “Mural” is an ideal project to bring many people together to create beauty in our communities.
“Chara-Rimpa Project” is our core art project. “Chara” comes from the word “Character”, and “Rimpa” is the name of a Japanese Art School from the 1600’s recognizable by images set against a gold leaf background. In Chara-Rimpa children design and create their own characters and adults support them to make their characters shine.
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Our Story
1978
Takeshi Kuwakado (father of the current director Cho) had a close relationship with professors at Pacific Oaks College in California. They started an exchange program between Kyushu Otani College, where Takeshi was president, and Pacific Oaks College. Takeshi Kuwakado also ran Lumbini Kindergarten in Saiki and the program there learned a lot from this exchange and has benefitted greatly since.
2013
To commemorate the 50th year anniversary of Lumbini Kindergarten, Cho Kuwakado requested muralist/artist Yasuyuki Sakura, a graduate of Lumbini Kindergarten, to plan an art event. In December, Sakura, with kindergartners and their parents, created a large mural on the playground wall.
2014
In January, Andrew Jones, a sociologist, and Sarah Clark, a graduate of Pacific Oaks College, visited Lumbini Kindergarten. Sarah Clark saw the mural and was interested doing a similar art project at her school in Burney, California. In May, the Chara-Rimpa project team visited Burney and made a sister mural with the students, teachers and families there.
2015-2016
In April, Andrew Jones, son of Pacific Oaks College faculty member Betty Jones, passed away from incurable cancer. Part of his assets, that was a gift from his wife Taeko Teshima, was designated in her memory and donated to the Chara-Rimpa project to use for project development in all parts of the world. Board members and officials of “Pacific Kids Mural Foundation” (a California public benefit cooperation) are working on plans to offer educational arts projects to create beautiful and peaceful spaces.
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Directors
Anh-Hao Thi Phan: Board Chair/ President・Chief Project Coordinator
Cho Kuwakado: Treasurer/ Chief Project Manager・Chara-Rimpa Project Representative
Hiroaki Seo: Secretary/ Chief Photographer
Sarah Clark: Vice President・Project Coordinator
Toshie Yoshioka: Artist・Chief Mural Designer
Officers
Yasuyuki Sakura: Artist・Chief Art Director
Young Ju Kwon: Vice President・Project Coordinator
Keiko Kuwakado: Project Manager・Photographer
Advisors
Betty Jones
Noriko Yamaguchi
Kate Yonezawa
Georgina Argil
Laura Gilabert
la Houille Blanche en couleurs:
Nicole, Keiko, Anne-Françoise, Marilyne, Jeanine et Catherine
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Chief Art Director
Yasuyuki Sakura / Artist・Muralist
Dr. Sakura is a graduate(1970) of Lumbini Kindergarten with strong roots in Saiki City. He holds a doctorate in fine arts from Tokyo University of the Arts, the top Japanese art college. He received a scholarship to study in Italy where he learned the classical method of “sgraffito.” He lived in New York City early on in his career and then returned to the Tokyo metropolitan area, which is now his professional base. In 2006, Dr. Sakura was featured in an hour-long program of the NHK series “Top Runner” which introduces rising stars in various fields.
