Sign Up Now for September & October Programs

If you haven't yet, sign up now for September and October programs!

It's not too late to sign up for the Fall 2024 Arts of Asia lecture series, Beyond the Familiar: A Deeper Look into the Asian Art Museum Collection, and the Fall 2024 Literature Course, In Pursuit of Qu Yuan (343-277 BCE), which starts this Sunday! Please sign up online. 

Member Event
Anime Comes of Age: The History of Japanese Animation, 1980-Present with Joshua Frydman
September 11, 2024 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Zoom Webinar
$15 per person Society members; $20 per person non-members
Advance registration must be received by SAA by September 9, 2024. New Extended Deadline!
In 1979, Mobile Suit Gundam and The Rose of Versailles proved that Japanese animated television series could work as entertainment for adult audiences as well as children. As appreciation of what animation could do spread in the high-speed economy of 1980's Japan, new genres and forms of anime were developed. Out of this explosion of animation came some of the powerhouse directors, writers and animation studios that would go on to change not only Japanese popular culture, but that of the entire world over the next few decades. Following on last year's talk about the origins of anime, this presentation looks at how and why Japanese animation became a worldwide phenomenon, and what led to the current styles and titles that remain popular today.
Click here to read more and sign up.

Member Event
Simone with Viet Thanh Nguyen & Minnie Phan
September 21, 2024 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum
$20 per person after museum admission. Children 12 and under are free.
Award-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen and acclaimed illustrator Minnie Phan will captivate parents, grandparents and children alike at this special presentation. They will offer insights, inspiration and a look at their just published book, Simone, a heartfelt story about a Vietnamese American girl whose life is transformed by a wildfire. Viet Thanh Nguyen brings his emotionally resonant voice and concern for social justice to the story, while Minnie Phan’s beautiful illustrations are geared toward children’s experiences.

After the talk, Minnie Phan will lead children in the audience in a hands-on drawing and painting activity in the Koret Education Center, while Viet Thanh Nguyen will answer questions about his writings and his work. They will also be signing books, which will be available for purchase in the museum’s gift shop.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to interact with the world-renowned author and illustrator! We urge you to bring your children and grandchildren to the museum for this fun-filled family program.
Click here to read more and sign up.

Member Event
Against Time: Isamu Noguchi's Museum Experiment with Matthew Kirsch
Thursday, October 17, 2024 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Zoom Webinar
$15 per person Society members; $20 per person non-members
Advance registration must be received by SAA by October 10, 2024.
In 1985, American-born artist Isamu Noguchi opened his namesake museum in a renovated photoengraving factory across the street from his longtime studio in Long Island City. The experimental move was Noguchi’s rebuttal to the art museum environment he had grown critical of during his career, and a counter to the numerous museums that had asked him to consider making gifts. The museum’s origins will be discussed in the context of Against Time: The Noguchi Museum 40th Anniversary Reinstallation, an adapted reinstallation of the second floor galleries, which opens on September 10, 2024. Within these galleries, Noguchi paired a selection of sculptures from the 1920s through the early 1970s with project models related to his various completed and unrealized public commissions for gardens, plazas, playgrounds, fountains and monuments, an area of his practice that was relatively unsung in 1985. Through the lens of the reinstallation, we can explore Noguchi’s art, the choices he made about its display and the museum’s ongoing work in ensuring his legacy.
Click here to read more and sign up.

Study Group
Indonesia's Indigenous Textiles with Jean Howe & William Ingram
Saturday, October 19, 2024 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Koret Education Center, Asian Art Museum
$15 per person Society members; $20 per person non-members after museum admission
Come explore and enjoy a presentation by Jean Howe and William Ingram, co-founders of Threads of Life, an Indonesian social enterprise since 1998, on how to sustain Indonesia's indigenous textile traditions in the 21st century. Threads of Life works directly with over 1000 women weavers in more than 35 groups on 12 Indonesian islands to build livelihoods, empower women, revitalize indigenous culture, and conserve dye plant ecologies. Their textile and basket products can be seen on their website and in retail galleries in Bali.
Click here to read more and sign up.