Amanda Minami

Amanda Minami feels incredibly lucky to have started her life in Japan – first on the beautiful island of Kyushu and then in Western Japan. Thanks to her parents' belief in the importance of embracing different cultures, she had a unique educational journey, attending a French Catholic school and later a Canadian French missionary school in Kobe. Her journey continued to the United States, where she pursued her studies in sunny California at a local high school and UC Irvine, then at Brown University and RISD in Providence, RI. Now, she is the parent of three independent, creative adult children – two sons and a daughter who is an aspiring artist. 

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In the 1980s, Amanda cultivated a deep appreciation for the transformative influence of arts and culture. She observed firsthand how youth could utilize art to effect positive change in civil society, drawing inspiration from influential artist Keith Haring and organizations like ACT UP. These experiences taught her that art could save lives and restore kindness and care to humanity. She also witnessed art's healing impact on her older relatives, particularly her mother, aunts, and Japanese relatives. Having endured global conflicts, war-driven incarceration, and trauma, they channeled their experiences through their artistry, finding solace and joy in their artistic and craft pursuits. Their unwavering dedication to the arts remains the most enduring legacy they passed on to Amanda. 

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Throughout her life, Amanda has been guided by the dual principles of family and of service. It has motivated almost all her philanthropic endeavors. Amanda has learned that if you have enough time to dream it, you can find ways to design and build platforms for positive exchange. She recently established global leadership and international scholarship programs, provided art publishing grants, and initiated visual arts grants to enrich the K-12 school curriculum. It has led her to champion artist talks, book publications, reviews, forums, and exchanges. Over the years, Amanda found many willing partners, such as Brown University, Stanford University, The Asia Foundation, Radius Books Foundation, the Asian Art Museum, PhotoAlliance, ICA SJ, Catchlight.io, FotoFest Houston, and more recently, NMWA. 

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In the past few years, she has added a few more initiatives in collecting and publishing. Camera Obscura (camob.io) was established in 2022 as a patron of photography and the visual arts—supporting artists who push the boundaries of visual storytelling by collecting and commissioning new work for education and exhibition, and The Minami Grant at Radius Books to support the publication of contemporary artist books of artists of the Asian and Pacific Rim diaspora. 

From her experiences living in both the United States and Japan, Amanda sadly witnessed how the pandemic and social division caused by inequity affected her family. Seeing these divisions is disheartening, and she finds it frustrating that public leaders are proposing limited solutions. She's disappointed by Japan's ranking of 125 out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report for 2023, given her Japanese heritage. Similarly, the US still has a long way to go in addressing gender inequity despite a century after the ratification of the 19th Amendment. But Amanda is an idealist at heart and wholeheartedly supports the unwavering determination of women. She is excited to collaborate with institutions like NMWA to promote equity and reduce the harms of misogyny. 

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Her hobbies include neuroscience research, non-pharma approaches to health, cooking with Penzeys, vintage car restoration, tennis, hiking, avocado farming, furniture making, and spoiling her daughter’s Goldendoodle. She is a trustee of the Asian Art Museum and Catchlight.io, a Founder of the Minami Legacy Fund for the Arts, and a Lotus Advisor to the Asia Foundation. 

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Amanda is inspired by many artists, including Ann Shelton (New Zealand), Betye Saar, Alison Saar, Carrie Yamaoka, Sophie Calle, Stephanie Syjuco, Shirin Neshat, Yael Bartana, Anicka Yi, Celia Paul, Patti Smith, and follows curators Abby Chen, Veronica Roberts, Candace Huey, Matthew Villar Miranda, Victoria Sung, and Jill Dawsey. For Amanda, supporting and recognizing women artists is crucial for an inclusive, civil society. She acknowledges the invaluable contributions and inspiration they provide to the next generation and strives to give credit to these phenomenal makers and thought leaders.

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Profile written by Mary Mocas, SFA Member

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