Janice Tanaka, born in Hollywood CA, studied music composition at the Conservatorio Internacional de Musica, studied and performed with the Allegro American Ballet Company, and fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After traveling and living in a variety of countries, she observed, “what a sad but beautiful world it is", while her “profound respect for mankind is punctuated by the knowledge that all is not right with the way we treat ourselves and each other”. Influenced by these early observations and experiences, her work takes its form in experimental documentaries, narratives, and visually poetic philosophical inquiries that reflect on the complexities of human nature, through our cultural, social, and political behavior.

Her national and international exhibitions include The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Geffen Museum, The Directors Guild and The American Film Institute LA; The Museum of Modern Art, and The 91 & 93 Whitney Museum of American Art, Biennial NY; The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; The London Regional Art & Historical Museum, England; El Centre de Cultura Contemporaria, Barcelona, Spain; The Science Museum, Hong Kong; Feministrische Kunst und Kultur, Germany; Maison De La Culture, France; Kroller Muller Museum, Holland; Finnish National Gallery, Finland; El Museo De Arte Modern Lisboa, Portugal; Festival de Video de Navarro, Spain; The World Wide Video Festival the Hague; Bonn Videonale International, Bonn Germany; and the European Media Arts Festival Osnabruck, Germany. Broadcasts include POV, The Learning Channel and New Television on CPB and PBS. Awards include The American Film Institute Media Award, The National Endowment for the Arts Media Award, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Public Broadcasting Systems Media Awards, and the 1991 and 2004 Rockefeller Foundation Media Fellowship.

Her work is included in the permanent collections of The Kroller Muller Museum, Holland; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pennsylvania; The Getty; and The Japanese American National Museum California; The Institute of Kino Engineers in St. Petersburg, Russia, among others.

Artist Code: 254