Kei Ito | The Beginning, in the land around me The Griffin Foundation Gallery, Gregory Allicar Museum of Art (Fort Collins)  January 18 – April 2, 2023 Opening Reception and Artist Talk: January 19, 5 PM  Presented in partnership with the Center for Fine Art Photography In collaboration with the Asian Pacific American Cultural Center at Colorado State University The Beginning, in the land around me is a solo exhibition featuring the work of multimedia artist Kei Ito. The five individual projects presented span work Ito completed between 2020–2023 that converge on and center around his own nuclear heritage as a third generation hibakusha—atomic bomb victim—and expand Ito’s exploration of and research into the American nuclear experience. The exhibition surveys the experiences of “downwinders” (a person living downwind of a nuclear test site or reactor) and creates an environment to discuss the shared pasts and traumas both hibakusha and downwinders have suffered at the hands of nuclear weapons, all that goes into their creation, as well as issues surrounding health, environmentalism, and our current global system of war and peace. A gallery talk and reception with Kei Ito will take place on Thursday, January 19 at 5 pm. Admission is free; registration is required.