It’s been 83 years since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order forcing the relocation of about 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals into detention camps during World War II.
Jazmin Barajas is one of six San Diego-based immigrant and refugee emerging artists whose work centering the Japanese American incarceration experience will be on display at the San Diego Central Library.
“Each of the fellows were able to bring their own experiences,” said Barajas, who lives in Otay Ranch. “A lot of us have backgrounds in different corners of the world.”
The exhibit is set to open April 12 with an event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will display the work of The AjA Project’s Civil Liberties Fellows. The exhibit will be on display through the end of June.
Japanese Americans and nationals were detained without having been convicted of any crimes. Their incarceration was ordered two months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, propelled by anti-Japanese sentiment, and were ordered closed in 1946.
Called “Language of Silencing,” the exhibit features a 7-foot-tall interactive book highlighting “the history of Japanese American incarceration and its relevance to present day civil liberty struggles.” The exhibit incorporates textile art, pop-up visuals and “augmented reality” virtual components.
A library-goer stops at The AjA Project’s Civil Liberty Fellows’ art installation during its opening reception at the San Diego Central Library on Saturday, April 12, 2025. 
A golden chalice is one textile element on a portion of the exhibit that centers religious traditions at the Central Library in downtown San Diego, Friday, April 11, 2025. 
Jazmin Barajas, right, explains how her own connections to the border allowed her to draw parallels to the Japanese American experience during World War II at the exhibit’s opening reception at the San Diego Central Library on Saturday, April 12, 2025. Several types of textile art work to tell the experience of Japanese American and Japanese nationals during World War II, San Diego, CA, Friday, April 11, 2025. One element looks at how housing is a key element for many displaced groups, drawing ties to the current Israel-Palestine conflict, displayed in downtown San Diego, CA on Friday, April 11, 2025. Civil Liberty Fellows Maya Rosado, left, Lena Hyasat, center, and Tarrah Aroonsakool sit on a panel discussion about their art installation at the opening reception in downtown San Diego on Saturday, April 12, 2025. A board labeled ‘relocation project sites’ is one element of the art project at Central Library, Friday, April 11, 2025. Creative Liaison, Victor Castaneda, left, and Executive Artistic Director, Shinpei Takeda set up the exhibit on the first floor of the Central Library, Friday, April 11, 2025. Shinpei Takeda builds one element of the display at Central Library on Friday, April 11, 2025. Victor Castaneda interacts with one of the augmented reality elements of the art on his phone in downtown San Diego on Friday, April 11, 2025.
Founded in 2000, the City Heights-based AjA Project uses participatory storytelling and documentary arts to highlight issues that affect diverse and historically underserved communities.
The project’s mission revolves around the idea that art is a “proven mechanism to ignite community engagement and social action,” according to the nonprofit’s website.
A first-generation Mexican American, Barajas says the fellowship allowed her to honor her family’s Mexican heritage and that the exhibit is an important reminder of the past. She said she has witnessed changing enforcement at the border.
“If we don’t tell the real story of what is going on at this border, we could end up allowing history to repeat itself,” said Barajas.
AjA’s Civil Liberties Fellows have been working on their upcoming exhibit for the past six months. The art piece looks at topics such as how migrants hold onto traditions through food and religion.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to add photographs from the event, which occurred after publication.
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