Ruth Asawa: A Vision of Grace, Beauty, and Justice

As we honor Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month this May, our parish ARC (Anti-Racism Committee) takes this opportunity to lift up the courage, creativity, and compassion of Ruth Asawa—a Japanese-American artist, educator, and advocate whose life and work reflect the core values of St. Ignatius' Jesuit tradition.

Born in Norwalk, CA, in 1926, to immigrant parents, Asawa’s life was marked by early adversity. During World War II, she and her family—like approximately 120,000 other Japanese Americans (including US-born citizens)—were unjustly forced into US internment camps. Yet even in hardship, Asawa was able to discover beauty. Like St. Ignatius, who found God in all things—even suffering—she ultimately transformed trauma into something sacred. Asawa is most well-known for her groundbreaking wire sculptures: floating, transparent forms inspired by nature and basket weaving she observed during an artists’ tour of Latin America. These sculptures remind us to view the world contemplatively—to find grace in the ordinary, and the divine in the overlooked.

But Asawa’s legacy goes beyond art. Her belief in the power of education to uplift communities helped her bring arts into public schools, and led her to co-found the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts in 1982. Her commitment to cura personalis—care for the whole person—is seen in her belief that every learner deserves access to creativity and expression.

Ruth Asawa lived out what it means to be “a person for others.” She used her gifts to serve, teach, and inspire—values at the heart of Jesuit education. As we reflect on her life and the contributions of all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders this May, let us imagine a world shaped not by exclusion but by inclusion; not by erasure, but by visibility. Let us seek to more deeply understand that advocacy, education, and beauty are not separate pursuits but deeply entwined acts of love, grace, and justice. 

If you are searching for a way to celebrate and contemplate ways Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have graced our beloved communities, you can view the first posthumous retrospective of Ruth Asawa's work at the SFMOMA (until September 2). You can also visit free, public art she created for the Bay Area, including a selection of pieces she donated to our neighbor, the de Young Museum, on the ground floor of its Education Tower. Learn more about these and other Asawa public commissions at ruthasawa.com/ruth-asawas-public-art-tour.

Evelyn Ibatan Rodriguez, member of St. Ignatius Parish Anti-Racism Committee and associate professor of sociology at USF