New exhibition to showcase work by Canadian-Japanese architect Kiyoshi Izumi

A new exhibit, featuring work by Kiyoshi Izumi, the earliest known Canadian architect of Japanese descent, will be coming soon to the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Izumi was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to Japanese immigrant parents. He avoided the internment camps of British Columbia and settled in Regina with the help of its small Japanese Canadian community before going off to become one of the brightest graduates from the School of Architecture at the University of Manitoba in 1948.

From 1954 to 1969, during the 15 years of its existence, his design firm Izumi Arnott and Sugiyama was behind many important civic buildings in Saskatchewan.

Izumi’s firm was responsible for the expanded Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, the Regina Public Library Central Branch, and the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts (now Conexus Arts Centre.) The firm also created the second master plan that guided the postwar expansion of the campus at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, which included Marquis Hall, the W. P. Thompson Biology Building, and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.

The upcoming exhibition, called Spring on the Prairie: Kiyoshi Izumi and the work of Izumi Arnott and Sugiyama, celebrates the “understated modernism of their buildings” and highlights the blend of durable materials and human-centric designs.

The exhibition also features artwork from the MacKenzie’s Permanent Collection by significant Saskatchewan modernist artists that offers historical context and enriches the dialogue surrounding Izumi’s architectural legacy.

The exhibition will be on display from September 12, 2024, to January 19, 2025.

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