Special Events Planned for Asian Art's Closure

by Lauren D. Yee

After 35 years in Golden Gate Park, the Asian Art Museum is biding farewell to its old site with a free, five-day celebration in October before moving to its new site at the old Main Library.

The Asian Art Museum, which is currently located in a wing of the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, is set to reopen at the newly remodeled old Main Library in the fall of 2002, according to Ellen Oh, who handles public relations for the Asian Art Museum. She added the date could be set back, depending on how construction at the new site goes.

Oh said the Asian Art Museum is happy to be moving to its new building, which will provide more exhibit space than the wing it is currently located in.

"It's wonderful to have our own building," she said. "We'll have three times as much gallery space."

However, the new building's size is not only a plus for the museum staff but for the public as well. The building's location will make the museum more accessible to visitors, according to Oh.

"It's centrally located, so it's easier to get to by public transportation."

According to Oh, construction workers are adding space at the new site for more educational resources, such as classrooms and galleries exclusively for special exhibits. Also, the museum has designed all of the new galleries specifically for its collections, an option that was not available before.

Because of the additional space, the museum will also be able to display several special exhibits without having to take down exhibits from its permanent collection, which the museum often had to do in the past.

Though the museum will be officially closed after Oct. 7, Oh said some of the docents will go out into the community to conduct lectures and the museum will lend an exhibit of Chinese jade to a museum in Fresno. The museum will hold a majority of its exhibits in a storage area at the museum before they are transported to the new site.

Although the museum will not open the new site for at least another year, all the museum's staff members and docents will be kept busy as they plan for the new site.

"We are going to be planning for the big opening," Oh said. "All of our curators are planning and choosing where everything goes. In our new building, we're going to have thematic galleries, such as 'The Spread of Buddhism,' instead of separating them by country (like before)."

The closing celebration lasts from Oct. 3 to Oct. 7, during which time the public can enjoy the museum's daytime events, free of charge. The museum's staff members, who host the events, will conduct free tours, lectures and children's events during the closing. Visitors can also participate in a multitude of activities, including Chinese brush painting, tea tasting, Korean ceramics and fruit carving.

During the five days several different artists will perform demonstrations throughout the museum. According to the Asian Art Museum's website (www.asianart.org), scheduled performers include the Aywah! Ethnic Dance Company, Melody of China and the Chaksam-Pa Tibetan Dance and Opera Company. In the evening the museum will host other events, which are open to visitors.

For those who cannot wait until October, the museum is also holding a series of performances and demonstrations during September to celebrate its Ottoman art exhibit, the last special exhibit the museum will display before closing. Performances feature demonstrations of calligraphy and Turkish music.

For more information, call the Asian Art Museum at 379-8800.