Members of SCMA enjoy exhibition preview: Collecting Art of Asia

"Movement" (detail of "energy source"), 2008, by Yong Soon Min.

On Thursday, January 31, members of the Smith College Museum of Art are invited to a members-only behind-the-scenes peek and preview of the multi-faceted, two-floor exhibition, “Collecting Art of Asia.”

Curator Linda Muehlig will guide guests through the preview of the exhibition, which marks the 100th anniversary of the first gifts of Asian art from the pre-eminent collector Charles Lang Freer. The exhibition also highlights transformative moments, people, and gifts in the history of collecting and displaying Asian art at SCMA. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South and Southeast Asian art from the Museum’s permanent collection will be featured along with promised gifts.

Asian art education will continue early next month on February 6, when SCMA hosts a workshop aimed at K-12 teachers.  The workshop will  explore interdisciplinary connections between Asian and “Western” art objects.

Curator Fan Zhang will provide teachers with an overview of the Collecting Art of Asia exhibition and Anne Prescott, Director of the Five Colleges Center for East Asian Studies, will outline valuable K-12 resources for teaching about Asia across the curriculum.

The workshop will be held on Wednesday, February 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The price is $30 for K-12 teachers and $25 for SCMA members. Anyone wishing to register for the event should call (413) 585–2781 or e-mail museduc@smith.edu.