The Diaspora

The Chinese Zodiac is based on a twelve-year cycle and each year is linked to an animal. Find your birth year and color in your zodiac animal.

Islam has been an important cultural force in much of Asia for more than five hundred years, and in some parts for more than a thousand. Today, far more Muslims live in other parts of Asia than in the Arab areas of Asia such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

The year 2003 marked the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan. Until 1853 Japan and the United States, located on opposite shores of the vast Pacific Ocean, had almost no contact. By choice, Japan had maintained itself as a nation with closed borders for more than two hundred years before this time, restricting foreign contact to relations with Dutch and Chinese traders, who were allowed access only to Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu. In contrast, the United States, faced with fierce international competition in the Pacific, aggressively sought new markets in East Asia. Thus, the establishment of relations with Japan became a popular topic for discussion in U.S. political circles.

Students will 1) learn the difference between location and place; 2) identify the location and place characteristics of different cities; and 3) reflect on the effects of a sudden change in location and place on the Japanese Americans when they were forced to evacuate and relocate.

Please join Khafre James, executive director of Hip Hop for Change, and Lily Ling, music director and conductor for the And Peggy North American Tour of “Hamilton”, for a discussion on art in the post-COVID-19 world.

Creating opportunities for youth involvement at the Asian Art Museum, Art Speak engages young artists ages fourteen to eighteen who are interested in Asian art and culture, enjoy exploring new and different ideas, are self-motivated and independent but work well with others, and feel comfortable interacting with the public. From manga to Ming to samurai, Art Speak is a dynamic program that grows from year to year with each season offering new and exciting opportunities for creation and collaboration.

An introduction to the Rama epic produced for the Asian Art Museum by filmmaker and cultural historian Benoy K. Behl, featuring performances from across South and Southeast Asia.

Over the centuries, two main branches of Buddhism emerged: a transmission that traveled to Southeast Asia, and a transmission that evolved in East Asia. A further offshoot of the northern transmission also developed. All three branches began in India, and developed further as they moved across Asia.

Students will: 1.) examine the Hindu tradition of threshold art; 2.) discuss how Indian values are expressed in the ephemeral art of threshold painting; 3.) draw traditional connect-the-dots threshold art designs; 4.) make colored rice flour and create an auspicious floor painting