JANM Stages Virtual Gala Clockwise from top left: Akira Boch, Evan Kodani and Yuka Murakami of the Watase Media Arts Center team display the local Emmys they received last year for the documentary “Masters of Modern Design: The Art of the Japanese American Experience” during the JANM 2021 Gala and Auction, livestreamed on May 1. East L.A. Taiko kicked off the virtual gala on May 1 for the Japanese American National Museum in energetic style, performing on the steps of the museum, which only recently reopened its doors to the public. JANM weathered the storm of a global pandemic with what CEO Ann Burroughs called “a year of extraordinary bounty which has given us a strong focus on the future.”