Omaha Performing Arts (O-Pa) partnered with Creighton’s Intercultural Center (CIC) to host the “Shaping History: Origami with Sharon Ishii-Jordan, Ph.D.,” event in the Mike & Josie Harper Center on Jan. 23. Youth and adult participants alike joined together to learn more about one of the most significant aspects of the Japanese Culture: origami.
Ishii-Jordan, the presenter of the event, retired as the Associate Dean of Creighton University’s College of Arts and Sciences eight years ago. She was also a full-time professor of education with a focus on special education in English language learners. Ishii-Jordan was then invited back to Creighton as a part-time instructor who also supervises a group of student teachers, a role she continues to this day.
The event is part of a much larger project of the O-Pa’s called “Voices AMPLIFIED,” a series of performances from different cultural backgrounds meant to spark engagement, reflection and new experiences. This performance, according to Ishii-Jordan, sold out within two weeks of ticket sales, marking the quickest sell-out of admissions the organization has seen.
“This is helping to teach a little bit more about one piece of the culture of Japan,” Ishii-Jordan said. “But at the same time, to understand it’s not a dead art, but it’s something that’s being used [in] contemporary ways right now.”
At the seminar, Ishii-Jordan spoke upon the origins of origami, an art form consisting of multiple precise folds to a single piece of paper. She also explained how this paper-folding technique plays a major role in modern-day engineering of technological advancements. From simple house furniture to multiplex space equipment, this intricate art expands the possibilities for humanity on multiple fronts. In fact, she exhibited multiple videos, including a presentation on the incorporation of origami in architecture by the University of Michigan’s Engineering Program.
“Besides just teaching…a piece of the Japanese culture, I think it’s really important for people to understand that art is important in STEM. At Creighton, there are a lot of people going into STEM, especially [in the] pre-med area and the pre-health areas,” Ishii-Jordan said. “And if they understand something about origami, that’s something that’s in their wheelhouse– in their reservoir– that they can pull out when they’re thinking of new ways of doing something, just like the engineers did here.”
Along with the educational presentation, all participants learned how to build a cup, a bird with moving wings and a toy ball that expanded when inflated.
The enjoyment of Ishii-Jordan’s origami lesson was not only shared amongst the participants but with Cadence Johnson, a junior College of Arts and Sciences and student worker in the CIC who volunteered during the event, and the other volunteers.
“I learned about the history of origami and the culture surrounding it. I was amazed [at] how origami came to be and loved learning [about] how it is used in modern engineering,” Johnson said. “The stories and the rich culture provided with this event made it so fun and enjoyable.”
Ishii-Jordan, Johnson and Kai Uno, who serves as the local President of Omaha’s Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), all agreed that events like these are crucial to the value and accessibility of diverse cultural engagement in the Omaha community.
“I think it is very important because in order to grow and be better individuals for our society, we must learn about something outside of who we are,” Johnson said.
Omaha’s JACL is an organization that focuses on the civil rights and injustices faced by Japanese Americans. They have also hosted gathering opportunities and created different groups for these community members to join and feel a sense of belonging during their experiences of ostracization.
Ishii-Jordan will be holding another origami teaching session in the Mike & Josie Harper Center on Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m.