Geography

Create your own layered collage to preserve your memories of a special place in your life.

Personal Space (2001), a layered, dreamlike painting by Kolkata-based artist Jayashree Chakravarty, is an imaginary map built up from painted strips of paper. In this activity, create your own map based on your special place.

In the spring of 2020, a herd of wild Asian elephants started migrating north from Southwest China. As of June 2021, the elephants have traveled 500 kilometers, navigating through rural areas and cityscapes toward an unknown destination. Scientists believe this unusual migration was spurred by deforestation, urbanization, and habitat loss.

Students will consider the ways art can be used as activism in the context of Environmentalism and National Park Preservation.

Objective: Students will explore primary documents, like Chiura Obata’s paintings, to understand the severity of the 1906 SF Earthquake.

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.

Share your favorite spots in your city’s Chinatown, Japantown, Koreatown, Manilatown, Little Saigon, or Little Delhi. Some Asian American communities might not have names like these, but they can be mapped just the same to show what makes them special.

An animated map and timeline overview of the rise of the First Emperor and the expansion of the state of Qin in ancient China.

Note: This video does not include audio.
The exhibition, “Emperors’ Treasures: Chinese Art from the National Palace Museum, Taipei” at the Asian Art Museum (from 6/17-9/18/16) focuses on Chinese imperial taste over more than 1,000 years, during which Chinese political borders changed dramatically. This video highlights some of those changes.

Learn more about the famous samurai story, the “Tale of the Heike” and hear Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Leta Bushyhead, tell an excerpt from the tale. This video include artworks from the Asian Art Museum’s collection.