Junko Bailey is an artist/actor/writer/filmmaker, originally from Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan, and based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Doshisha University in Kyoto. She has been a member of ACTRA since 2003. As an actor, she has appeared in several TV/Film productions. She is a filmmaker on the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba's History Committee project Manitoba Moments. She is in pre-production on a documentary titled Arctic Sushi. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/junko.bailey/
Artist Statement
As a Japanese person who has lived in Canada for over 20 years, I still struggle with my sense of identity.
The Japanese community in Winnipeg is much smaller than those of Vancouver or Toronto, and I realized that the accomplishments of Winnipeg's Japanese community have been largely overlooked.
I feel that it is important to document the achievements of Japanese-Canadians in Manitoba in the years since the internment camps during World War 2. Much has happened since then.
My plan is to produce a series of documentaries featuring notable Japanese-Canadian individuals who have struggled to adjust to cultural differences, finally establishing deep roots in Manitoba.
The films will be short bridges between generations and cultures.
They will tell the stories of the courageous individuals who immigrated to Manitoba from Japan - their hardships and their eventual successes, and shine a light on what it means to be Japanese-Canadian in Manitoba today.
