What we carry – legacy, identity, and community art

What we carry – legacy, identity, and community art

Author: Sophia Layne May 16, 2026 Duration: 21:44

Host Sophia Layne steps inside a hidden artist's studio and gallery in Half Moon Bay, tucked behind a bike shop near California’s iconic Highway One. As Kitsune Studios hosts its third annual celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, they embark on a multi-media exploration of this year's theme – LEGACY.

In this first of a two-part series, Sophia tours the exhibition with artist and studio owner Na Omi Shintani and chats with Na Omi and poet Monica Korde, whose collaborative installation is featured in the show.

Along the way, the conversation moves through music-evoking photography, travel-inspired embroidery, and a painful but essential reckoning with the Japanese American incarceration of World War II — and why the words we use to describe history matter more than we might think. And why, in 2026, that history feels closer than ever.

This episode is a reminder that art does what few other things can — it slows us down, asks us to notice, and makes space for stories that might otherwise stay buried.

More information:

https://www.judykitsunestudio.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qRonCpgHd0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkzj1SoZ_sY

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYPguVzCRb-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557385082181

Naomi Shintani is a visual artist and gallerist based in Half Moon Bay whose annual AAPI Heritage Month exhibitions have brought together artists from across the Bay Area to share their work and stories with the Coastside community. Her own work depicts family stories, honors Japanese American history, showcases women’s issues, and environmental issues.

Monica Korde is former Poet Laureate of Belmont and current Artist-in-Residence with Government (AIRG) with the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture. A community builder and passionate advocate for youth engagement in the arts, her practice bridges poetry & performance, collaborations with youth & other artists, inviting audiences of all ages & backgrounds to deeply engage with identity, belonging and collective creativity.

Sophia Layne is a public advocate, nature lover, long-time Coastsider, and mom. She's a former director in the biomedical industry and has served on her local school board as well as leadership roles in county- and statewide public education advocacy organizations.


Sophia Layne hosts On Location-Coastside Edition, a podcast that digs into the complex fabric of community life where society, culture, and policy intersect. Each episode moves beyond abstract debate, grounding discussions in the tangible realities and unique character of coastal regions. The conversations explore how local decisions on education, environmental stewardship, and economic development are deeply woven into broader cultural narratives and news cycles. Sophia’s perspective is shaped by her direct experience in crafting public education policy at local and state levels, as well as her professional view from within the global biomedical field. This combination allows for a distinctive analysis of how communities can invest in themselves wisely and sustainably. The aim is to foster a more informed and interconnected dialogue, one that operates from a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity. By examining the threads that connect a school board meeting to international research, or a coastal preservation effort to statewide budgetary choices, this podcast offers a grounded yet expansive look at building a resilient future. It’s not about returning to an idealized past, but about thoughtfully navigating toward a more robust and equitable version of our shared world. Tune in for a series of thoughtful, on-the-ground explorations that make the connections between our daily lives and the larger systems around us both clear and compelling.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 17

On Location - Coastside Edition
Podcast Episodes
Dream it, do it - teen robotics and the future of work [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:18
Host Sophia Layne heads to the inaugural FIRST Robotics California Northern State Championship for a front-row seat at one of the most energizing things happening on the Coastside — and possibly one of the most under the…
Open to all – the quiet revolution boosting literacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:24
Host Sophia Layne sits down with Susan Alvaro at the Half Moon Bay Library for a wide-ranging conversation about the inner workings of public education, the power of literacy, and the many ways community members can get…
Season's Greetings! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:14
There’s been so much to get swept up in at the national level over the past year or so – though while ‘flooding the zone’ is not a new strategy, the tides are indeed starting to turn (if slowly…).While it’s the tradition…
The land we love – and the democracy we build [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:05
Host Sophia Layne walks the Half Moon Bay, CA, blufftops with Barbara Dye — community leader, land trust advocate, and two-time Peace Corps volunteer. Barbara shares her journey from preserving thousands of acres in Sout…
Shaping the shoreline – whales, sails, and tales [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:19
Host Sophia Layne chats with Virginia Chang-Kiraly, a member of both the San Mateo County Harbor District and Menlo Park Fire Protection District Boards, at Surfers Beach in Half Moon Bay, California, as whales spout jus…
Education for all – breaking barriers, building futures [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:49
Host Sophia Layne walks through Half Moon Bay with Hector Camacho, Executive Director of Equity, Social Justice, and Inclusion at the San Mateo County Office of Education. As they pass by local schools, their conversatio…
Brewing change – Proposition 50 and a pint [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:54
Over pints of beer on the patio at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, host Sophia Layne sits down with co-founder Lenny Mendonca as he traces his journey from management consulting and statewide economic development, whe…