L-R: The Asian Art Museum on Larkin Street in San Francisco and the Minneapolis Institute of Art on Third Avenue in Minneapolis.
Asia Week New York is delighted to welcome two new museum members to our community: Asian Art Museum, San Francisco and Minneapolis Museum of Art. Both institutions are renowned for their exceptional collections, innovative exhibitions, and enriching programs. Watch AWNY's websites, newsletters, and social media posts for up-to-date information about our members' activities.
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco
Located in the heart of San Francisco, the museum is home to one of the world’s finest collections of Asian art, boasting more than 18,000 awe-inspiring artworks ranging from ancient jades and ceramics to contemporary video installations. Dynamic special exhibitions, cultural celebrations and public programs for all ages provide rich art experiences that unlock the past and spark questions about the future.
The Asian Art Museum was founded more than 50 years ago, when collector Avery Brundage donated nearly 8,000 outstanding Asian artworks to the city of San Francisco. A new wing of the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park was opened in 1966 to showcase the priceless collection. In 2003, the Asian Art Museum moved to the former Main Library building in the Civic Center, which had been transformed to showcase the expanding collection as well as the groundbreaking exhibitions the museum had become known for. Since then, the museum has solidified its position as not only one of the premier art venues in the Bay Area but also as one of the most important centers for Asian art and culture outside Asia.
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Minneapolis Museum of Art
The Minneapolis Institute of Art, abbreviated as Mia, enriches the community by collecting, preserving, and making accessible outstanding works of art from the world’s diverse cultures. Mia’s collection of Asian art is comprised of some 16,800 objects, ranging from ancient pottery and bronzes to works by contemporary artists, with nearly every Asian culture represented. Areas of particular depth include the arts of China, Japan, and Korea.
Specific subsets and highlights of these collections rival the holdings of museums across the globe. For its stylistic diversity and condition, Mia’s collection of ancient Chinese bronze is typically considered one of the nation’s finest. Mia’s Japanese collection has outstanding concentrations of Buddhist sculpture, woodblock prints, paintings, lacquer, works of bamboo, and ceramics, and is particularly rich in works from the Edo period (1610–1868). The museum’s commitment to Asian art is also evident in the sheer volume of space devoted to its display. At present, Asian art occupies an impressive 20 percent (32,200 sq. ft.) of the total display space (161,000 sq. ft.) for art at Mia. The permanent display space for Japanese art is the largest in the Western world, with 15 galleries spanning more than 10,000 square feet.
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