About Charissa Uemura

Charissa Uemura is a documentary photographer who has worked in the Twin Cities for the last 15 years. She holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.

Her work has appeared in:


• American Theater magazine
• A. magazine
• Colors magazine
• Journal of the Asian American Renaissance
• “ Performing Asian America” by Josephine Lee
• “ Bold Words” edited by Rajini Srikanth and Esther Y. Iwanaga.

She has exhibited work at:


• Center for Independent Artists/El Colegio gallery
• Babylon Art and Cultural Center
• Minnesota History Center (for the Day of Remembrance celebration in 2000)
• Chalmer-Davee Library, UW- River Falls
• Katherine Nash Gallery

  Personal projects, exhibits and grants:

  Rhythmic Spirit - In May 2003 the Center for Independent Artists in Minneapolis presented a solo exhibit of Charissa’s work documenting the lives of women who practice the traditionally male-dominated art of Japanese taiko drumming. The exhibit was made possible in part by funds provided by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council from and appropriation by the MN Legislature.

  Stories from Both Sides of the Barbed Wire - Charissa and collaborating artist/writer Joyce Yamamoto received a 1999 Jerome Foundation Travel and Study grant to photograph the sites of Japanese American Internment camps built on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona during WWII, and to interview former internees and Pima people who remembered that time.

  Past Becoming Future - She received a 1993 Film in the Cities/McKnight Foundation Fellowship to create a family history photographing her grandparents’ hometowns and families in Japan.