Masumi Hayashi, DFA, was a Japanese-American artist born at the end of WWII, and is known primarily for her extensive ouevre of panoramic photo-collages, taken at sites of cultural significance and visual power. Dr. Hayashi was born in the Gila River (AZ) Internment Camp during World War II, and later raised in Watts, Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Hayashi was motivated to create photographic fine art work that succeeded visually, yet simultaneously provoked dialogue about cultural context.

Born in war hysteria and raised in poverty, Dr. Hayashi's career began with education at UCLA and FSU (BFA, MFA), and then continued with teaching at Cleveland State University for 24 years. She simultaneously achieved success as a tenured university professor and as a visual fine artist in the USA. Masumi Hayashi lived the American dream.

It was Dr. Hayashi's series of work on the Japanese-American internment camps during WWII that firmly established her as a significant artistic voice of her generation.

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This is the digital art museum of artist and Professor Masumi Hayashi, DFA, featuring her panoramic photo-collages and other creative research. This is a retrospective of Masumi Hayashi's artwork that has been produced, since 1986. Ms. Hayashi is an artist and photographer whose work has gained significant attention in the United States, Europe and Japan. Her work has been exhibited and collected in respected museums and galleries, including the International Center for Photography in New York, the Tokyo Museum of Photography, the Los Angeles County Art Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Ludwig Art Museum in Koblenz, Germany. Professor Hayashi has also taught photography at Cleveland State University for over twenty years.

This site is the exhibition site for Hayashi's different projects over the last 22 years, including her Prison and War series, E.P.A. Superfund Sites series, Post-Industrial Landscapes series, City Works projects and commissions, and Asian temples series. Included in Gallery 1 is the exhibit of photo collages from her 2003 Fulbright fellowship sponsored trip to India and Nepal.