Kibō Nobori
Spring 2026 - JACCC
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KIBŌ NOBORI
In Japanese, kibō means “hope” and nobori means “flags” or “banners.”Kibō Nobori is an ongoing installation series by artist Faith-Ann Kiwa Young,, inspired by the traditional koi nobori flown across Japan to celebrate Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day). The work reimagines this custom through contemporary textile “hope flags” that bring color, movement, and child-like wonder into shared public space.
From 2022–2025, the project was presented annually as a vibrant Children’s Day celebration in Little Tokyo in partnership with the artist and Terasaki Budokan, bringing together music, performance, art, a marketplace, and family-friendly programming celebrating the creativity and diversity of Japanese American and AAPI communities.
In Spring 2026, Kibō Nobori enters a new chapter through a series of site-specific installations presented at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) in Little Tokyo as part of Kodomo no Hi celebrations and AAPI Heritage Month.
From May 1–12, 2026, three site-specific installations will be presented across JACCC’s campus, including flags on the main building, within the entrance hall, and an immersive installation in the Tea Room. During the Kodomo no Hi celebration on May 3, the Tea Room will become a participatory space where children are invited to draw and share messages of hope.
The project invites all ages to gather, reflect, and celebrate this vibrant tradition together through color, movement, and a shared sense of child-like wonder.
JOIN US
May 1–12, 2026 Kibō Nobori Installation on view daily across campus
Kodomo no Hi Celebration: Sunday, May 3, 2026 11 AM- 3 PM
Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC)
244 S. San Pedro Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Faith-Ann Kiwa Young
About the Artist
Faith-Ann Kiwa Young is a Los Angeles–based, half-Japanese multidisciplinary artist working with textile, photography, and light-responsive installation. Known for luminous fabric sculptures and layered silk compositions, she creates immersive environments that transform light and space into places for reflection and quiet wonder.
Blending photography, paint, and textile, her practice explores memory, renewal, and collective resilience. Rooted in her Japanese American heritage and shaped by California’s light and landscape, Young creates sculptural “soft monuments” that hold transience and continuity at once.
Her installations and public art projects have been presented internationally, including recurring site-specific works in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, as well as participatory installations created in collaboration with community and mental health organizations such as the Asian Mental Health Project and Yellow Chair Collective.
In 2025, Young was commissioned by Angel City Football Club to design the club’s AANHPI Heritage Month scarf and created a large-scale flag installation for the LA Golf Club launch at Sofi Stadium. She is the 2025–2026 Artist-in-Residence at the City of Santa Monica Camera Obscura Art Lab and a recipient of the Roots + Resilience Grant from the Doan Foundation.
Young is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University. She has studied Japanese language in Chiba, Japan, and traditional sumi-e ink painting at the Venice Japanese Community Center. Her work has been featured in The Economist, Rolling Stone, Juxtapoz, Dwell, and ABC News.
JACCC
Host and Partner
Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC), located in the heart of Little Tokyo, is one of the nation’s leading institutions dedicated to Japanese and Japanese American arts, culture, and community programming. Through exhibitions, performances, and public events, JACCC serves as a vital gathering place connecting artists, families, and the wider Los Angeles community.
Kodomo no Hi is JACCC’s largest annual celebration, welcoming thousands of visitors each spring during AAPI Heritage Month and bringing generations together through art, performance, food, and cultural activities inspired by Japan’s Children’s Day tradition.
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