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The Swift Current Museum is currently exhibiting The Suitcase Project in its temporary exhibit space.
The display is a statement on the impact felt by Japanese Canadians and Americans who, during WWII, were placed in internment camps. The display features those individuals' descendants, being fourth and fifth generation Japanese Canadians and Americans. They were asked by the project's lead, Kayla Isomura, to pick what they would pack if forced to immediately leave their homes.
Crystal Ljunggren, education coordinator for the Swift Current Museum, encourages people to take in the powerful exhibit to see the first-hand effects of the discrimination faced by 1940s Japanese Canadians.
"There are photographs and short films and interviews of their experiences," said Ljunggren. "It really makes us all think about what if we had to leave at a moment's notice, and what is it that you would pack?"
The project will be on display until the end of September. It will be available for viewing during the Swift Current Museum Culture Days.
The displays go into detail on the individuals featured, and also break them down by age, region, and other statistics. It shares the story of how 22,000 Canadians were removed from their homes due to being of Japanese descent.