Installation view of Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Celebrating 70 Years of Asia Society and the Rockefeller Legacy at Asia Society
There’s no better time to explore the extraordinary Asian art exhibitions on view at Asia Week New York’s member museums. From world-renowned collections to groundbreaking new installations, these inspiring exhibitions offer fresh perspectives on the art, history, and cultures of Asia. Escape the summer heat, discover something new, and make the most of the season with a visit to these exceptional museums throughout New York City and beyond. View the list below!
Asia Society
Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Celebrating 70 Years of Asia Society and the Rockefeller Legacy
Through January 3, 2027
Celebrate Asia Society Museum’s 70th anniversary with Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon, a landmark exhibition showcasing seventy extraordinary masterpieces from the Rockefeller Collection. Spanning more than two thousand years, the exhibition features remarkable Buddhist and Hindu sculptures alongside rare Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ceramics, bronzes, and metalwork, highlighting the enduring beauty, spiritual traditions, and cultural exchanges that have shaped Asian art across the centuries.
To learn more, click here.
Zen Rock Garden; Courtesy Charles B. Wang Center, Stoney Brook University
Charles B. Wang Center
Organic Serenity: Reflections of Life in Sui Park’s Sculptures
Again by Seongmin Ahn
The Studio: Through a Surrealistic Lens
Zen Rock Garden
Ongoing Installations
100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY
Discover four captivating long-term installations at the Charles B. Wang Center, where contemporary art, architecture, and cultural tradition come together in unexpected ways. From Sui Park’s mesmerizing biomorphic sculptures and Seongmin Ahn’s vibrant multilingual mural to GREEM’s immersive surrealist environment and the Center’s tranquil Japanese Zen garden, these inspiring works invite visitors to reflect on nature, identity, community, and imagination through diverse artistic perspectives.
To learn more, click here.
Courtesy China Institute
China Institute
The Unheard Melody: Music in Chinese Paintings–A Special Showcase of Song Dynasty Art and Music
August 5 – 27, 2026
Grand Hall, 100 Washington Street, NYC
The Unheard Melody: Music in Chinese Paintings invites visitors to explore the rich role of music in Song dynasty life through masterpieces from A Collection of Song Dynasty Paintings. Combining high-resolution reproductions with ancient music, animations, interactive displays, and traditional instruments, this immersive showcase brings the sounds, stories, and cultural world of these remarkable works to life.
To learn more, click here.
Courtesy Japan Society
Japan Society
Ainu Summer Festival: Ainu Stories, Culture, and Traditions
August 12–13, 2026
333 East 47th Street, NYC
Experience the vibrant heritage of the Ainu, the Indigenous People of Northern Japan, through an inspiring series of events this August. Welcoming more than 25 artists and educators from Biratori, Hokkaido, the program features hands-on workshops, traditional dance, embroidery and woodcarving demonstrations, lectures, screenings, and culinary experiences celebrating the rich history and living traditions of Ainu culture.
To learn more, click here.
Courtesy The Korea Society
The Korea Society
Kim Koo: Dreaming of Peace Through the Power of Culture
Through August 31, 2026
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Fl, NYC
Commemorating UNESCO’s designation of 2026 as the 150th anniversary of Kim Koo’s birth, this special exhibition honors one of the most influential leaders of the Korean independence movement. Through photographs, historical materials, and archival displays, it celebrates Kim Koo’s enduring vision of cultural strength, national identity, and his lasting legacy in modern Korean history.
To learn more, click here.
Courtesy Korean Cultural Center New York Society
Korean Cultural Center New York
It’s Time for K-Culture 2026: Escape the Summer, Dive into Korea
Through August 22, 2026
122 E 32nd St, 2nd Fl, NYC
Step into a one-of-a-kind immersive festival where Korean entertainment, gaming, food, beauty, tourism, and fandom come together through interactive installations, large-scale media experiences, and hands-on activities. Whether you’re a longtime fan of Korean culture or discovering it for the first time, Escape the Summer, Dive into Korea offers an unforgettable journey into Korea’s most exciting summer traditions.
To learn more, click here.
Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A Lasting Legacy: Chinese Jades from New York Collections
Ongoing
1000 Fifth Ave, NYC
In this newly opened exhibit at The Met, discover the enduring beauty and cultural significance of Chinese jade. Featuring 50 exceptional works from the museum’s collection alongside treasures from pioneering collector Heber R. Bishop, the exhibition traces America’s growing appreciation for Chinese jade through exquisite carvings, ceremonial objects, and masterful works spanning centuries of artistic innovation.
To learn more, click here.
Composite image: (top) Vishnu Reclining on the Serpent Ananta (Endless One); Cambodia, Siem Reap province, second half of 11th century; bronze, mercury gilding; National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh; Photograph by Mario Ciampi, © Guicciardini & Magni Architetti / (bottom) Still from the short film Awkun; National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Film by praCh Ly
National Museum of Asian Art
Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean
Closing September 7, 2026
050 Independence Ave., Washington DC
At the dawn of time, the Hindu god Vishnu slept on a coiled serpent, dreaming the universe into existence — and this ancient story comes to life through the largest bronze ever cast in Southeast Asia, on loan from the National Museum of Cambodia. For the first time in centuries, the sculpture can be experienced in its full, breathtaking six-meter length, reunited after decades of painstaking conservation work. Alongside the sculpture, the exhibition explores the sacred temples and reservoirs of ancient Angkor, and a companion film by Cambodian American director praCh Ly brings the story into the present, capturing life around that same reservoir today. A true once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a thousand-year-old masterpiece.
For learn more, click here.
Cabinet with design of Plants of the Four Seasons and Mount Fuji, 19th century, Artist/maker unknown, 1916-237; Courtesy Philadelphia Art Museum
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Japan at the World’s Fairs
Ongoing
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
This newly opened installation marks a remarkable milestone: 150 years since Japan’s celebrated participation in the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial — the very moment that sparked the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s own Japanese collection. Now, that legacy comes full circle. Explore exquisite ceramics, lacquerware, metalwork, and sculpture, each piece either shown at one of these world-changing expositions or a testament to the artistry that captivated international audiences. And the story doesn’t stop in the past, video footage from Expo 2025 in Osaka brings the journey into the present, reminding us that this exchange between cultures is still very much alive.
To learn more, click here.
Zhang Huan 張洹, Foam, 1998. Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of Larry Warsh / Art Issue Editions. © Zhang Huan 張洹
Princeton University Art Museum
What Photographs Look Like
Through December 5, 2026
Princeton University Campus
The title of the show is borrowed from Peter Bunnell, who was hired by Princeton in 1972 as the first endowed professor of the history of photography in the United States, and who later served twice as director of the Museum. Bunnell used the phrase to upend his students’ expectations. Photography, he insisted, was far more than a flat print. From photographic drawings to malleable photo-sculptures, the medium has always resisted easy definition. This collections-based exhibition carries that spirit into the present, underscoring photography’s enduring, and still surprising, ability to reinvent itself.
To learn more, click here.
Installation view, About a Living Culture at Diversity Plaza, Jackson Heights, NYC. Photo by Nicholas Knight, courtesy of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
About a Living Culture
Through September 13, 2026
Diversity Plaza, Jackson Heights, NYC
Nepalese artist IMAGINE (a.k.a Sneha Shrestha) brings a new temporary public art installation to Jackson Heights, Queens, a vibrant celebration of the diverse Himalayan cultures that define the neighborhood. For her first public art sculpture, IMAGINE has created an arch of repeating rows of ‘Ka,’ the first letter of the Nepali alphabet. In Nepal, archways like this mark the thresholds of religious and sacred spaces, inviting passersby to look through and receive blessings from the divine. At Diversity Plaza, this installation becomes something for everyone: a moment to pause, to meditate, and to send that intention out into the universe as you pass through.
To learn more, click here.
Installation View of The Natural World in Indian and Islamic Art at Yale University Art Gallery
Yale University Art Gallery
The Natural World in Indian and Islamic Art
Through November 8, 2026
Just opened this month, this captivating display explores the multifaceted role of nature in Indian and Islamic painting. From brilliant flashes of lightning to delicate blossoms evoking a perfumed summer evening, the natural world served as backdrop for epic religious and historical tales, including scenes from the famed Persian Book of Kings (Shahnama), as well as a stage for elegant royal portraiture. By the 17th century, birds and flowers had blossomed into independent subjects in their own right, celebrated across the royal workshops of Iran, India, and beyond.
To learn more, click here.