Grace Eiko Thomson is a second-generation Japanese Canadian, who lived in Vancouver with her family until 1942 when they were sent to the internment site of Minto Mines, BC, then in 1945 to rural Manitoba. Graces education focused on her cultural roots through art; she graduated from University of Manitoba (BFA), and University of Leeds, UK, (MA). She worked as curator of various art galleries and launched the Japanese Canadian National Museum in 2000. She was President of the National Association of Japanese Canadians in 2008. She is mother to two sons and grandmother to five grandchildren, and currently participates in various Downtown Eastside activities and issues in Vancouver, BC.
