National Museum of Asian Art announces plans for its 100th anniversary
The National Museum of Asian Art has announced plans for its 100th anniversary which begins in November 2022 and continues through 2023.
The museum will celebrate its centennial with a year-long series of events and programs that deepen the understanding of Asian arts and cultures and reach new audiences. The activities, organised around the theme of ‘Journeys’ highlight the larger transformation of the museum into an institution engaged globally and locally.
A two-week festival 1st to 13th May 2023, will celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month—the museum’s first large-scale festival in recognition of this heritage month, and a cornerstone of the centennial celebrations.
Lonnie Bunch Secretary of the Smithsonian notes “the National Museum of Asian Art has played an essential role in fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of Asian art and its intersections with America for nearly a century.
“The museum’s centennial represents a unique opportunity to reflect on its past while looking toward its future in line with the Smithsonian’s wider goals of expanding the reach and impact of our nation’s collection. We welcome the public to join the museum as it marks this anniversary and sets its trajectory for the next 100 years.”
“The museum’s centennial will serve not only as a milestone for the institution and the Smithsonian but as a catalyst for the century ahead,” said Chase F. Robinson, Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art, the National Museum of Asian Art. “Our vision is to transform the National Museum of Asian Art into a space where a wide range of visitors can come together to celebrate, learn about and interact with Asian art and cultures, including their intersection with America. In our second century, we’re becoming a space to convene, learn, reflect and forge connections through art.”
The centennial is anchored by three lead exhibitions—each of which furthers the museum's vision for its next century—employing cutting-edge digital and immersive features and forging global partnerships:
- “A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur” (19th November to 14th May 2023): Presented in collaboration with The City Palace Museum in Udaipur administered by The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, “A Splendid Land” is a major survey of works from the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan, India.
- “Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings” (25th Feb to 28th April): “Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings” is the first major exhibition in the United States dedicated to Anyang, the capital of ancient China’s Shang dynasty. “Anyang” brings together more than 200 objects from the museum’s collection to examine the Shang state and the artistic achievements of those who lived in its capital over 3,000 years ago.
- “Ay-Ō’s Happy Rainbow Hell” (25th March to 10th Sept 2023): Known as the “Rainbow Artist,” Ay-Ō is internationally regarded for his experiential works and prismatic silkscreen prints that make prominent use of a bright rainbow aesthetic. “Ay-Ō’s Happy Rainbow Hell” is the first museum exhibition dedicated to the artist’s work in the United States.
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