President's Message in November-December 2021 Newsletter

Dear SAA Members and Friends,

The social aspect of SAA has suffered in the last 18 months without in-person events, but I am happy to report that our first in-person gathering took place last month, strangely enough in Morocco. A small group of our intrepid travelers finally made the twice-postponed trip and, as you can see from the photo, they had a great time!

In October our second in person event, a walking tour of Chinatown, was fully booked!

We now invite you to join our Holiday Party in December, an outdoor event on the covered and blocked off space in front of one of our favorite galleries, Orientations on Tillman Place in San Francisco. It is not only a welcome back to San Francisco party after several years in Monterey, but also a get-together for all of us to celebrate the season with its multiple holidays.

We hope this party will be the beginning of many more in person events. However, the advantages of zoom webinars and meetings will not be disregarded. Look for details in this newsletter about the hybrid Arts of Asia lecture series. It is ironic that after a great series on contemporary art on Zoom, we go back thousands of years to the very early civilizations along the banks of the major rivers in Asia. Did they experience water shortages like we do?

I hope that you will spend the holidays in good health and in good company. On behalf of all the Board Members of the Society for Asian Art, we thank you for your support and wish you all the best for the year 2022.

May we meet again soon in person!

Ehler Spliedt President

Photo courtesy of Marsha Vargas Handley