by Toni Robinson
Aug 27, 2008
News Release
For Immediate Release: August 21, 2008
Toni Robin: 858.483.3918
Gayle Hom: 619.255.8908
High Resolution Photos Available
New Americans Museum Exhibits Rare Photographs by Filipino American Photographer
September 20 – November 2, 2008
New Americans Museum, NTC Promenade, Liberty Station, 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 102, San Diego 92106, 619-255-8908, Hours 11am-5 pm, Wednesday-Sunday. No charge for admission. This new museum (opened June 21, 2008) celebrates the contributions of America’s diverse immigrant population.
“Through My Father’s Eyes: The Filipino American Photographs of Ricardo Ocreto Alvarado (1914-1976),” a collection of 50 photographs offering rare insight into the emergence of the Filipino-American community in postwar America, will debut at the New Americans Museum, Saturday, September 20th and will remain on view until November 2nd.The entire collection of nearly 3,000 photographs was discovered in 1976 by a teenaged Janet Alvarado in the basement of her family home following her father’s passing. Janet, now the Executive Director of The Alvarado Project, led the effort to create the exhibition which toured nationally as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Traveling Exhibition Service until 2006.
“We are proud to present this moving collection,” said Executive Director Gayle Hom. “It is a worthy tribute to our Filipino population.” There are currently more than 80,000 foreign-born Filipino residents in San Diego County who account for more than 12% of our foreign-born population. “Coincidentally, the large Filipino population in San Diego had its start when many Filipinos that enlisted and served in the U.S. Navy were trained at the Naval Training Center and opted to return to San Diego after their tours of duty,” added Hom. Redevelopment has transformed the former NTC into a premier arts and culture district. “In a fitting turn of events, the sacrifices and achievements of a remarkable generation of immigrants can now be honored by the New Americans Museum at the very site where so many made such vital contributions to our country,” said Hom.
Ricardo Alvarado emigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1928 as part of the early 20th-century wave of immigrants. He served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. When the war ended, Alvarado supported his passion for photography by working as a civilian cook for an army hospital in San Francisco. For more than 20 years following the war, Alvarado documented postwar Filipino American life. His photographs capture day-to-day activities as well as special moments of celebration. The exhibition photographs offer a poignant portrayal of the Filipino American community in San Francisco from the early 1940s to the late 1950s.
For more information about the New Americans Museum or the Alvarado Project, please visit New Americans Museum and The Alvarado Project. New Americans Museum – Pursuing Dreams, Creating America’s Future
NTC Promenade, Liberty Station
2825 Dewey Road, San Diego 92106, 619-255-8908
Hours 11am-5 pm, Wednesday-Sunday.
No charge for admission
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