Nowruz Traditions from Across Asia
Explore and celebrate Nowruz traditions from across Asia in this showcase featuring displays of art, craft, food, decor, and other meaningful objects. Embassies and DC-based cultural institutions join us for a cherished cultural tradition shared by communities around the world. This event is part of the Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250 celebrations.
Nowruz, the Persian word for “new day,” marks the vernal equinox and the first day of spring. Rooted in Zoroastrianism, the religion of Iran before the advent of Islam, Nowruz was celebrated as early as three thousand years ago. Today, Nowruz is celebrated by more than 300 million people around the world, from Asia to the United States. Image: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Cory Grace.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, East Building. Asian Art Museum, West Building. Event Location: Gallery 27. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nowruz-traditions-from-across-asia-tickets-1985329273300?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Celebrations. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, March 26, 2026, 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
Public Chanoyu Presentation with Urasenke Tankokai Washington DC and Artist DG Smalling
Witness a public presentation of a traditional Japanese practice of tea preparation called chanoyu, featuring tea utensils from the museum’s collection. This is our third annual, public chanoyu presentation with the Urasenke Tankokai Washington DC Association. Tea will not be served to audience members during this presentation.
The 2026 program marks a significant expansion of this annual event. For the first time, the event will feature a koicha (thick tea) presentation in the museum’s largest indoor venue, the Meyer Auditorium.
Master Artist DG Smalling (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) expands the program with a creative collaboration. Smalling will create live, continuous-line drawings of the presentation in his signature single-line style. He draws upon the historic practice of kaiki (record of a gathering), associated with sixteenth-century tea masters such as Tsuda Sōgyū. His participation celebrates the enduring spirit of US-Japan cultural exchange on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1982898938102?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Demonstrations. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, March 28, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM.
Artist Talk: Hiroshi Senju
Can't join us in person at the museum? Join us online for a livestream of the artist's talk, co-presented by Japan House LA.
Hear internationally recognized painter Hiroshi Senju talk about his artistic process in person on the opening day of Into the Waters with Senju and Bingyi: Two Contemporary Paintings.
Senju is known for his ethereal waterfall paintings, which can be found in art collections globally and in public spaces like Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, the US Embassy in Tokyo, the Buddhist monastery on Mount Kōya, and the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC. He has traveled around the world to study waterfalls and distills their essence using mineral-based pigments that have been a staple of Japanese painting for centuries.
After the talk, Curator of Japanese Art Frank Feltens joins Senju for a conversation and audience Q&A.
To celebrate the exhibition opening and program, the galleries will remain open until 6:30 p.m. so attendees can experience these two dynamic artworks before the start of the artist…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artist-talk-hiroshi-senju-tickets-1983892713511?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: After Five. Lectures & Discussions. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, April 2, 2026, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM.
Anime Lounge
Chill out with your fellow otaku between films during our Anime and More weekend. Devour sweet treats from SakuSaku Flakerie, and sip delicious teas from Teaism. Meanwhile, enjoy talks on Japanese folklore monsters and food demos of anime-inspired recipes.
Generous support for this event and the Anime and More festival is provided by an anonymous donor. Image courtesy of SakuSaku Flakerie.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, East Building. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 27. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Films. Lectures & Discussions. Demonstrations. Culinary Arts. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, April 4, 2026, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Encounters with Yōkai: Monsters, Spirits, and Fantastic Creatures of Japan
In this talk, Japanese folklore expert Michael Dylan Foster introduces the creatures known as yōkai and explores how they have been imagined and portrayed through the centuries. With focus on collection, classification, and play, Dr. Foster shows how these historical approaches resonate with contemporary media and games. Along the way, we encounter many individual yōkai, as well as some of the artists, scholars, and writers who have explored what they have to say.
Michael Dylan Foster is a professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Davis. He is the author of many works on Japanese folklore and media, including Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yōkai (2009) and most recently, The Book of Yōkai, Expanded Second Edition (2024). Among his coedited volumes are The Folkloresque: Reframing Folklore in a Popular Culture World (2016) and Möbius Media: Popular Culture, Folklore, and the Folkloresque (2024). Since 2022, he has been the…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, East Building. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 27. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, April 4, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Folkloresque Transformations: From Japanese Folklore to Global Media Product
Michael Dylan Foster, author of The Book of Yōkai
How does pop culture media like games and anime draw on and reimagine folklore? In this talk, Japanese folklore expert Michael Dylan Foster explores this question, referencing contemporary media such as Yo-kai Watch and the animated films of Studio Ghibli. Dr. Foster analyzes how the open-access nature of folklore facilitates creativity in the commercial realm of popular culture. The concept of the “folkloresque” sheds light on the different ways contemporary media invokes the authority and “authenticity” of traditional narratives, beliefs, and legendary characters to create “new” products for a global media marketplace.
Michael Dylan Foster is a professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Davis. He is the author of many works on Japanese folklore and media, including Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yōkai (2009) and most recently, The Book of Yōkai, Expanded Second Edition…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, East Building. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 27. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, April 5, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Tea, Plastic, and Performance in the Global Pacific
What can a tea ceremony teach us about ocean plastic pollution? Quite a lot, according to the art and research collective Tea Ceremony with Pacific Plastics.
Founded in 2022 by a group of students and faculty at UCLA, this initiative aims to address sustainability and oceanic plastic pollution through the cultural practice of chanoyu (commonly called “Japanese tea ceremony” in English.)
Chanoyu conveys a legacy of Pacific Rim cultural exchange and migration, a tradition of integrating unlike and unusual items into a cohesive whole, and a focus on mindfulness and co-presence with others. All these characteristics can be effectively incorporated into a creative response to a pressing global concern.
Over the past three years, the collective has cultivated relationships with artists, designers, engineers, craftspeople, scholars, and culture bearers across California, Boston, and Japan. Leading an interdisciplinary team, they built a tea house from salvaged and recycled materials and use tea-inspired performan…
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hwWHMmmEQBWdfdfmJ430VQ. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
International Slow Art Day
Experience the joy of art by slowing down and taking time to look closely with guided activities. Join staff and docents as they lead viewing of and conversations about Japanese screens. Or learn to make origami with an art-making workshop.
Prefer to explore at your own pace? Pick up a slow-looking guide to sketch, write, and connect with works of art of your choice. Image: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Amy Abraham.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Freer Gallery of Art. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Kids & Families. Workshops. Lectures & Discussions. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, April 11, 2026, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Screening and Discussion: Black Box Diaries
In Person: Shiori Ito, director
In 2017, journalist Shiori Ito shocked Japan by publicly accusing a prominent media executive of raping her. Black Box, the book she published about her experience, became a bestseller and touched off Japan’s #MeToo movement.
With the urgency and suspense of a thriller, Black Box Diaries documents her sexual assault and its aftermath, melding her own video diaries, secret audio recordings, and dramatic courtroom footage to forge a damning case against her attacker. Meanwhile, the film exposes law enforcement negligence and a network of the powerful bent on protecting their own.
This event is copresented with the Georgetown University Department of Performing Arts and the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival.
After the film, Ito will participate in a panel discussion and audience Q&A, followed by a book signing.
Director: Shiori Ito. Countries: Japan, United States, United Kingdom. Released: 2024. Length: 103 min. Format: DCP. Language: English and Japanese with…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/screening-and-discussion-black-box-diaries-tickets-1984570868892?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Films. Lectures & Discussions. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices.
Saturday, April 11, 2026, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
Conservation Cart Talk | Choosing Materials for Chinese Hanging Scrolls
Join Chinese painting conservator Xiangmei Gu to explore how she selects materials when mounting paintings as hanging scrolls. Learn how she chooses silks for the borders, lines them with Xuan paper, and dyes them with Chinese watercolors to create harmony with the delicate Chinese paintings.
Try your hand at picking the right color and experience the trial and error process. Plus, examine and handle the silks, papers, pigments, and brushes used in this traditional practice.
Ultimately, you'll learn how these materials support the conservation of Chinese paintings in our collections. Image: Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Gallery 13. Cost: Free. Registration is optional. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1984382944806?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Gallery Talks & Tours. Demonstrations. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices.
Friday, April 24, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Saeb Eigner, Artists of the Middle East: Book Talk and Signing
In this lecture, Saeb Eigner offers a journey through more than a century of modern and contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa, as documented in Artists of the Middle East: 1900 to Now. The book brings together over 250 major artists—from early modernists to today’s leading contemporary voices—across a vast geographic area stretching from Morocco to Iran. Eigner will highlight how cultural heritage, linguistic and literary traditions, and regional socio‑political realities have shaped different art movements and individual practices.
By examining landmark artists such as those active in the mid‑20th century alongside contemporary figures, the lecture will trace continuities and ruptures: how earlier modernist expressions gave way to new forms; how political upheaval, migration, globalization, and cultural exchange influenced artistic production; and how art from the region today speaks to global audiences while remaining rooted in local histories.
After the talk, participate in a Q&A…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/saeb-eigner-artists-of-the-middle-east-book-talk-and-signing-tickets-1981810960933?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Shopping/Book Signing. Lectures & Discussions. After Five. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, April 24, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM.
American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XXII: Keynote Panel and Reception
Keynote panel and reception: Thursday, May 7, 4–8 p.m. EDT
Symposium: Friday, May 8–Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m. EDT
Curator-led tours: Sunday, May 10, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. EDT
The American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XXII will be hosted by the Freer Research Center in Washington, DC, on May 7–10, 2026.
The symposium begins on the afternoon of May 7 with a keynote panel and reception. On May 8–9, the program will continue with two full days of in-person talks and discussions. We will conclude on May 10 with curator-led gallery tours.
Keynote Panel: In the Realms of Friendship: Emotion, Devotion, and Status in the Visual Arts Vidya Dehejia , Annapurna Garimella , Heidi Pauwels , Molly Emma Aitken, ACSAA symposia are opportunities to meet our colleagues, reconnect with mentors and graduate school cohorts, and share one’s current research with the field. Occurring every two years and hosted by academic institutions and museums, often in conjunction with major exhibitions, ACSAA symposia…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Freer Courtyard, Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-council-for-southern-asian-art-acsaa-symposium-xxii-tickets-1980384718002?aff=ebdssbdestsearch. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, May 7, 2026, 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XXII: Day 1
Keynote panel and reception: Thursday, May 7, 4–8 p.m. EDT
Symposium: Friday, May 8–Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m. EDT
Curator-led tours: Sunday, May 10, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. EDT
The American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XXII will be hosted by the Freer Research Center in Washington, DC, on May 7–10, 2026.
The symposium begins on the afternoon of May 7 with a keynote panel and reception. On May 8–9, the program will continue with two full days of in-person talks and discussions. We will conclude on May 10 with curator-led gallery tours.
ACSAA symposia are opportunities to meet our colleagues, reconnect with mentors and graduate school cohorts, and share one’s current research with the field. Occurring every two years and hosted by academic institutions and museums, often in conjunction with major exhibitions, ACSAA symposia are one of the primary ways that members gather, share ideas, and participate in the ACSAA community. To learn more about ACSAA, its current board members, and its…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-council-for-southern-asian-art-acsaa-symposium-xxii-tickets-1980384718002?aff=ebdssbdestsearch. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, May 8, 2026, 10:00 AM – 6:30 PM.
American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XXII: Day 2
Keynote panel and reception: Thursday, May 7, 4–8 p.m. EDT
Symposium: Friday, May 8–Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m. EDT
Curator-led tours: Sunday, May 10, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. EDT
The American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XXII will be hosted by the Freer Research Center in Washington, DC, on May 7–10, 2026.
The symposium begins on the afternoon of May 7 with a keynote panel and reception. On May 8–9, the program will continue with two full days of in-person talks and discussions. We will conclude on May 10 with curator-led gallery tours.
ACSAA symposia are opportunities to meet our colleagues, reconnect with mentors and graduate school cohorts, and share one’s current research with the field. Occurring every two years and hosted by academic institutions and museums, often in conjunction with major exhibitions, ACSAA symposia are one of the primary ways that members gather, share ideas, and participate in the ACSAA community. To learn more about ACSAA, its current board members, and its…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-council-for-southern-asian-art-acsaa-symposium-xxii-tickets-1980384718002?aff=ebdssbdestsearch. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, May 9, 2026, 10:00 AM – 6:30 PM.
American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XXII: Curator-led Tours
These tours are part of the American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Symposium XXII. ACSAA membership is required to attend. Join or renew your ACSAA membership.
To conclude the symposium, our curators will lead tours of two exhibitions at the museum. Debra Diamond will lead tours of Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms at 10 and 11 a.m. , Emma Natalya Stein will lead tours of Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean at 10 and 11 a.m. For more information, please visit the program page or email FreerResearchCenter@si.edu. Image: Procession of musicians, ceremonial textile (detail); India, Gujarat state, for the Indonesian market, 16th–17th century; block-printed plain-weave cotton (mordant- and resist-dyed); National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Pettit Foundation South Asia and India Fund and the Elizabeth B. Moynihan Fund, F2025.2.1.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, East Building. Building: East Building. Event Location: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-council-for-southern-asian-art-acsaa-symposium-xxii-tickets-1980384718002?aff=ebdssbdestsearch. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, May 10, 2026, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.