Erika Tsuchiya-Bergere ‘98
Since her first visit to the Lamont Gallery during her time at Exeter, Erika Tsuchiya-Bergere ’98 has followed an interdisciplinary creative path. Now, Tsuchiya-Bergere sheds light on the criminal justice system through Hidden Lives Illuminated, a photography and video project.
For the past three years, Tsuchiya-Bergere has worked at Eastern State Penitentiary as a Lead Teaching Artist, teaching classes in storytelling, screenwriting, narration and animation. “Engaging with local communities and addressing social justice is a vital part of my work,” she said, describing her productions, largely centered around themes of race, gender equality and criminal justice, as “socially-driven.”
The project will culminate on Sep. 12 with a showing of 20 original short films created by currently incarcerated artists. The films seek to humanize the United States’ correctional system by highlighting the perspectives of individuals affected by the system.
Documentaries like Hidden Lives Illuminated allow the general audience to better understand the world around them, Tsuchiya-Bergere explained. “I have always been inspired by observing how parts of society work together and function,” she said. “Documentaries allow me to share those insights with others, both near and far.”
Tsuchiya-Bergere drew from her experience in both filmmaking and teaching to assist each member of her classes, according to Project Coordinator and Community Engagement Officer Robyn Buseman. “The end product, the student films, are a testament to her abilities,” Buseman said. “She gave the students space to make their own movies while providing the guidance needed.”
Tsuchiya-Bergere’s interdisciplinary skills and dedication to her work have certainly not gone unnoticed. William Wallace, her co-teacher on the set of Hidden Lives, describes her as “one of the hardest working people [he has] ever had the opportunity to collaborate with.”
Tsuchiya-Bergere’s relentless work ethic helped her fit right in with the Eastern State Penitentiary community, Wallace explained. “I think working with an incarcerated population of motivated adults gave her a unique opportunity to work with people here who were, at times, as driven as she was,” he said.
Buseman found that Tsuchiya-Bergere’s character is unique in other ways that subtly aided the project as well. “Her calm demeanor, her wonderful thoughtfulness with the students and her adaptability to conditions that were not the usual classroom,” she said. “Erika is a great listener and did all the research and work required of such a complex project.”
Much of Tsuchiya-Bergere’s work at the Eastern State Penitentiary is rooted in her Exeter experience. “Because of the influence of friends, I engaged in creative arts all through my Exeter career,” Tsuchiya-Bergere said. “I began to write and began to love music; a lot of those passions started with good friends while we were just spending time in the dorm or painting a mural in Grill.”
Even years after graduating, Tsuchiya-Bergere credits her ability to communicate with others to the Academy. “Exeter was a very intense place, which forced me to be more assertive with what I wanted to achieve,” she said. “That tendency helped me reach out to people later when I needed to, an ability which has served me well throughout my career thus far.”
After graduating from Exeter, Tsuchiya-Bergere made a decision that would shape the rest of her life. Instead of staying in the country and attending the Pratt Institute, she moved to London and spent 11 years of her life earning her BA in Social Anthropology and an MA in Photography from the SOAS University of London. She continued living abroad afterward and studied fine art in Paris.
Tsuchiya-Bergere’s overseas residence cemented her interest in understanding different cultures. She furthered that interest by becoming fluent in four languages—English, Japanese, French and Electro. Language, she described, “is the best way to understand a new group of people,” a talent Tsuchiya-Bergere brought into her later works.
Music is another way Tsuchiya-Bergere immerses herself in other cultures. She describes herself as a member of a “vibrant international community of audio-visual artists” and has worked on albums, opened for night clubs across the world and worked with prominent artists in the Detroit electronic music scene.
Each of her pursuits—documentaries, language, music, even location—are all part of Tsuchiya-Bergere’s way of understanding the world. “Stepping into others’ spaces through each of these different art forms allow me insight into other’s lives and gives me the ability to help them tell their stories,” she said.