News

A group of 10 students in Santa Catalina School’s Global Leadership Program attended a special presentation by a young Japanese woman who colorizes black and white photographs to tell a story of war and peace.

The lecture took place at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. The speaker was Anju Niwata of Hiroshima, Japan, an undergraduate student at the University of Tokyo who, at the age of 16, began a project to colorize prewar photos belonging to a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing whose family all died in the attack. Through the colorization process (which partly involved the use of AI), Anju unlocked some of the man’s childhood memories and helped him feel more connected to his family.

The students asked thoughtful questions during the Q&A and were able to chat with the speaker afterward. The presentation prompted much discussion and invited students to consider different ways to tell stories from our past.

Learn more about Anju Niwata’s “Rebooting Memories” project.