Nikki Arai (b. 1944 in Milwaukee, WI; d. 1982 in San Francisco, CA) was a photojournalist, gallerist, and teacher, who documented the nascent political activism of the late 1960s and 1970s from the perspective of Asian America. Her relationship to photography began in 1969, with an exhibition of the 40-day occupation of People’s Park on property acquired by University of California, Berkeley that displaced residents—a struggle that continues today in Defend People’s Park confrontations. In this selection of photographs for the 58th Carnegie International, Arai’s camera captured a transformative period when Asian American political activists worked in solidarity with other national and international struggles.
