• © Asian Art Museum

  • Light and Sound Installation
    by Haroon Mirza
    Courtesy of the artist © Asian Art Museum


Exhibition

September 7 – December 9

Haroon Mirza: The Night Journey

10:00 am–5:00 pm

Electricity comes alive in The Night Journey, a mesmerizing light and sound installation by London-based multimedia artist Haroon Mirza. This site-specific, immersive artwork arises from the artist’s interests in Sufi mysticism, meditation, trance music and other consciousness-altering practices as alternate ways to experience the world.

The Night Journey is based on an Indian miniature painting in the Asian Art Museum collection, The night journey of the Prophet Muhammad on the heavenly creature Buraq (c. 1800). Mirza has converted a pixelated version of this image into a score, or source code, for his custom-built media system. Visitors enter a darkened room, where they are surrounded by vintage speakers that “play” the score as electrical sounds — buzzing, humming, droning, hissing — and corresponding colored LED lights.

By translating an artwork into a score and the score into electrical impulses in the form of sound, light and color, Mirza allows us to hear, see and even feel art in new ways, raising larger questions about our perceptions of the world around us.


Exhibition

September 7 – December 30

Painting is My Everything - Art from India's Mithila Region

10:00 am–5:00 pm

With precise skill and bold artistic vision, the 17 contemporary artists included in this exhibition, many of them women, employ a centuries-old regional styles to express personal experiences and viewpoints. They paint traditional subjects such as Hindu gods but also use their brushes to document and comment on everyday life as well as national and global events.

Mithila style painting, characterized by visually striking compositions, stylized images, delicately detailed surfaces and vibrant colors, was originally practiced exclusively by women on the walls of their homes. In the wake of a severe drought in the 1960s, this mural tradition was transferred to paper, a format that could be sold to bring much-needed income to rural villages.

Painting continues to be a catalyst of economic growth and social change in Mithila. For many women, artistic success has translated into financial independence and community respect. Dulari Devi, a woman from a lower caste community who had been a housemaid before earning her living as an artist, declares, “Ever since I started painting, I do it like worship . . . painting is my everything.”


Symposium

October 5

Asian Art Now: Curating, Collecting, and Writing The Contemporary 2018 Asia Week San Francisco Bay Area Symposium

1:30 pm–5:30 pm

Seating is limited. Please RSVP here: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efnjkee6b0496daf&oseq=&c=&ch=

In conjunction with Asia Week San Francisco Bay Area and jointly sponsored by NanHai Art, Christie’s, and The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the 2018 Asia Week San Francisco Bay Area Symposium Asian Art Now: Curating, Collecting, and Writing The Contemporary will convene museum directors, curators, collectors, scholars, and art critics, distinguished in their fields, for an informative and inspirational discussion on four crucial themes of contemporary Asian art: curating, collecting, research and criticism.

Panel One of this two-part symposium will delve into the excitement and complexity of the decision-making processes of curators and collectors (both institutional and private) as they selectively and perceptively acquire and exhibit contemporary Asian art in a global context. Devoted to unfolding the scope, perspectives, and major topics and issues of the current discourses in academia and art writing, Panel Two will examine the values and functions of research and criticism as well as their power and efficacy to shift cultural landscapes.

Agenda

1:00-1:30 Registration

1:30-1:50 Opening Remarks:
Edward Gui, Director, NanHai Art; Organizer, Asia Week San Francisco Bay Area
Ellanor Notides, Deputy Chairman Americas, Christie’s
Jay Xu, Director, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

1:50-3:20 Panel 1: Curating and Collecting
Betti-Sue Hertz, Independent Curator; former Director of Visual Arts at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Michael Knight, Consulting Curator, former Senior Curator of Chinese Art at The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Andrew Lick, Specialist of Chinese Works of Art, Christie’s
Karin Oen, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

3:20-3:50 Coffee Break

3:50-5:30 Panel 2: Research and Criticism
Richard Vine, Managing Editor of Art in America
Lilly Wei, Art Critic and Independent Curator
John Zarobell, Associate Professor, Department Chair of International Studies, University of San Francisco
Shengtian Zheng, Adjunct Director for the Institute of Asian Art, Vancouver Art Gallery; Managing Editor of Yishu

5:30-7:30 Opening Reception


October 13

 Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Performing Arts Showcase + Kick Off! | APAture 2018: RE:place

1:00 pm–4:00 pm

Co-presented by Asian Art Museum

APAture 2018 kicks-off at the Asian Art Museum with the Performing Arts Showcase on Saturday, October 13 from 1-4 PM! Featuring Jyun Jyun and MissTANGQ. Showcase artists: TBA.

*APAture 2018: RE:place Festival Schedule and Supporter level and Festival Passes (with reserved seats) can be found through our Indiegogo campaign! (http://igg.me/at/apature2018)

This year we've asked artists to explore 'place,' including but not limited to: displacement, reclaiming space, relationship or orientation to place, movement and migration, the loss or lack of place, or the various dimensions of place (spatial-emotional, past-present, individual-communal, etc.). How does 'place’ resonate with you?

APAture is Kearny Street Workshop's annual multidisciplinary arts festival celebrating emerging Asian and Pacific American (APA) artists of the San Francisco Bay Area. For 16 years, APAture has been a site of dialogue, collaboration, and political action between artists and community members around contemporary issues affecting the Asian and Pacific Islander community.

APAture 2018: RE:place will showcase over 60 artists in book arts, film, literary arts, music, performing arts, and visual arts, and will present their work to approximately 1,000 festival-goers across multiple dates and venues in the South of Market neighborhood.

Come join us and help us celebrate our local emerging APA artists for the 17th year! You don't want to miss this!


APAture 2018: RE:place Festival Schedule:
(Multiple Locations in SF) Arc Gallery & Studios 1246 Folsom St. | Asian Art Museum 200 Larkin St. | San Francisco Public Library 100 Larkin St. | Z Space 450 Florida St. | Hotel Utah 500 4th St.
**OPENING RECEPTION, BOOK ARTS SHOWCASE, AND CLOSING RECEPTION ARE FREE. ALL OTHER SHOWCASES ARE TICKETED EVENTS**

Performing Arts Showcase
feat. Jyun Jyun and missTANGQ
Saturday, October 13th, 1-4 pm
Asian Art Museum (Samsung Hall), 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

APAture Opening Reception and Visual Arts Showcase
feat. Malaya Tuyay
Friday, October 19th, 6-10 pm (Opening Reception)
Saturday, October 13th - November 4th (Visual Arts Showcase on display)
Arc Gallery & Studios, 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Book Arts Showcase
feat. Jess Wu-O
Sunday, October 21st, 12-5 pm
SFPL (Latino/Hispanic Community Room), 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco 94102

Literary Arts Showcase
feat. Janice Sapigao
Saturday, October 27th, 7-10 pm
Arc Gallery & Studios, 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Film Showcase
feat. Jody Stillwater
Sunday, October 28th, 2-5 pm
Z Space, 450 Florida Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

Music Showcase
feat. SETI X
Friday, November 2nd, 9-1 am
Hotel Utah, 500 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

APAture Closing Reception
Sunday, November 4th, 1-4 pm
Arc Gallery & Studios, 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/kearny-street-workshop-3353400630


Museums

Asian Art Museum

Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Korean, Southeast Asian, Himalayan & Central Asian, Islamic & Middle Eastern

Home to more than 18,000 exquisite art objects spanning 6,000 years of history and culture throughout Asia, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is one of the largest museums in the West devoted exclusively to Asian art and culture. From a rare 3,000 year old Chinese bronze rhino to the latest contemporary creations, the museum is a window to Asia’s past and present.
Hours:
Tuesdays through Sundays: 10 AM–5 PM
Thursdays (through Oct 8, 2015): 10 AM–9 PM
Closed on Mondays, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

www.asianart.org

Contact


(415) 581-3500
United States
200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Hours

Tuesday through Sunday
10 am–5 pm