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Joy Kogawa revisits the story of Japanese Canadian internment camps with a new AR app

Award-winning Canadian novelist Joy Kogawa joins q's Tom Power to talk about her latest project, an experiential augmented reality narrative called East of the Rockies.
CBC Radio ·
Joy Kogawa in the q studio in Toronto. (Vivian Rashotte/CBC)

Originally published on November 12, 2019

Joy Kogawa is the award-winning novelist behind Canadian classics like Obasan and Itsuka.

Her latest project is an experiential augmented reality (AR) narrative called East of the Rockies, which tells the story of Yuki, a 17-year-old who is forced to live in the Slocan Japanese internment camp in British Columbia during the Second World War.

Kogawa returned to the q studio to talk to host Tom Power about her deeply personal work raising awareness about Japanese internment in Canada, how augmented reality can help audiences connect with the story, and the impact of her book Obasan nearly 40 years after it was first published.

WATCH | Joy Kogawa's full interview with q host Tom Power:

You can download East of the Rockies wherever you get your apps. The project is also part of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, which is on until Friday, Nov. 15. You can check out the East of the Rockies pop-up experience at 401 Richmond in Toronto.

— Produced by ​Cora Nijhawan

 

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