Flickr/rocor

The Aurora Fountain

Born in California in 1926, Asawa, along with her family, was a resident of Japanese internment camps for much of World War II. Following her internment, she studied to become an art teacher, but was unable to finish her degree due to lingering predjudices. Teaching plans thwarted, she made her way to the short-lived but legendary Black Mountain College in North Carolina where creative innovators of the day were partaking of the arts focused curriculum.

Asawa eventually became a wildly successful sculptor, with shows at prominent arts institutions like the Whitney. A longtime San Francsico resident, she went on to craft well-known fountains around the city.

Asawa is responsible for the Mermaid Fountain in Ghirardelli Square, the Nihonmichi fountain at Buchanan Mall in Japantown, the Aurora fountain on the Embarcadero and the Hyatt fountain on Union Square. She was also commissed to create the Japanese American Internment Memorial Sculpture for the San Jose Federal Building.

Asawa has been a champion for arts education throughout her career. In 1982, along with others, she helped to found the arts-focused public high school that will now bear her name.

The dedication ceremony will include speakers Peter Coyote, Mark Leno, Carlos Garcia, Emily Murase, Carmelo Sgarlato, Jill Wynns and others.