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Memorializing the Hibakusha Experience

JANUARY 22–APRIL 5, 2026

Created in partnership with the Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College, Ohio, Memorializing the Hibakusha Experience features the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Memorial Collection, the brainchild of Quaker nuclear abolitionist Barbara L. Reynolds (1915–1990), who settled in Hiroshima throughout the 1960s. Comprised of photographs, publications, artifacts, and other materials of Japanese origin—the likes of which has no parallel outside of Japan—this singular archive was assembled in support of Reynolds’s advocacy, which strove to eradicate nuclear arms by shining a light on the plight of the hibakusha (A-bombed survivors).

Harmonizing with the historical works, the exhibition also prominently features artworks by five contemporary artists, whose work retains the urge to memorialize the hibakusha experience.

Curated by Claude Baillargeon.

Opening Reception has been rescheduled for Thursday, January 22, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Join us at 5:30 p.m. for a Walkthough by the curator.

Additional Public Programming

Curator’s Talk
Wednesday, February 11, 2026 12:00 p.m.
Oakland University Art Gallery
“Barbara Reynolds’s Antinuclear Activism and the Genesis of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Memorial Collection”
Claude Baillargeon, Professor of Art History, Oakland University.

Interdisciplinary Symposium
Friday, March 20, 2026
Oakland University Art Gallery
“Plumbing the Depths of A-Bomb Sufferers’ Trials and Tribulations”
Event made possible by the generous support of a College of Arts and Sciences Cultural Ambassador Faculty Grant.

Artist Panel
TBD
“Past Is Present: Memorializing the Hibakusha Experience” –
Featuring Kei Ito, Katy McCormick, Migiwa Orimo, and elin o’Hara slavick.
Event made possible by the generous support of The Judd Family Endowed Fund and the Barry M. Klein Center for Culture and Globalization.

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