The exhibition, including its related public programs and national tour, was organized by Mingei International Museum and was made possible by a major grant from The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund. The exhibition was funded in part by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program.
A Mingei International documentary exhibition publication was funded by a grant from the Japan Foundation, a grant from Joanne and Frank Warren, and the revolving publication funds of Seymour E. Clonick and Sydney Martin Roth. The documentary publication includes a Prologue by June Sprigg, Foreword by Martha W. Longenecker, and Commentary by William Thrasher. A Mingei International exhibition documentary videotape, made possible by an anonymous foundation, was nominated for a Pacific Southwest Region Emmy Award.
This exhibition was based on a major loan from Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Other objects in the exhibition were from The Art Complex Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, The Fruitlands Museums, Kitamaesen Museum and the Kaga City Board of Education, Mingei International Museum, Mingeikan/Tokyo, The Peabody Essex Museum, The Western Reserve Historical Society and Library and private collections.
This exhibition revealed the extraordinary similarities within two contrasting cultures. They share standards of excellence in making objects for daily use, resulting from skilled and sensitive use of natural materials, and a reverence for the work of human hands. KINDRED SPIRITS brought together for the first time a broad spectrum of American Shaker and Japanese crafts representing rich regional traditions. The exhibition featured approximately 200 of the finest objects used in American Shaker and Japanese daily life — including furniture, textiles, baskets, tools, and domestic utensils made of wood, metal, paper, lacquer, and natural fibers. Related films accompanied the exhibition.
The exhibition traveled to The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida, and the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
The exhibition, including its related public programs and national tour, was organized by Mingei International Museum and was made possible by a major grant from The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund. The exhibition was funded in part by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program.