Join JANM and ArtCenter for a panel that looks at the roles that Japanese American alumni from ArtCenter’s vaunted Transportation Design Program have played in shaping auto design over the last sixty years.

The Transportation Design Program has produced generations of influential Japanese American designers, including Bud Sagano and Larry Shinoda (GM) in the 1950s, Tom Matano (Mazda) in the 1970s, Jon Ikeda (Honda/Acura) and Bob Mochizuki in the 1990s and 2000s, and more recent graduates like Yasu Sato (Bentley) and Harry Maemura (Subaru).

The panel includes a tribute to the late Tom Matano (BS 74) and a discussion of his work on the iconic Mazda Miata. Featured speakers include: Jon Ikeda, Senior Vice President of Honda Racing Corporation USA, and Bob Hall, automotive industry consultant and former editor for several automotive magazines. Hall has extensive design and planning experience through his tenure in several companies as Director, Product Planning and Design Management. During his time at Mazda, Hall was integral to the design of the Mazda Miata.

This program is concurrent with the exhibition Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community and the mini-exhibition, Cruising J-Town, Side Trip now on view at ArtCenter’s South Campus.