The Many Worlds of Turkish Classical Music: A Talk and Musical Demonstration with Three Turkish Masters
Saturday, December 19, 1:00 pm

FREE with museum admission

Virtuoso musicians Necati Çelik, Tumuçin Cevikoğlu, and Yavuz Akalin, currently on tour from Turkey, will perform and discuss the essential elements and history of Turkish music. The secular music of the Ottoman courts was compiled not only by Turkish composers, but also by Arabic, Armenian, Balkan, Greek, and Jewish communities, whose cultures the Ottoman Empire included. The music inherited from Ottoman Turkey not only continues to be performed, but is still being developed by modern composers and ensembles.

Society for Asian Art Member Event: Buddha in the 21^st Century with Sandra Cate

Friday, December 11, 2:00-4:00 pm

$15 members, $25 non-members ($15 members, $25 non-members (does not include admission to Emerald Cities)

Reservations are required: saa@asianart.org or (415) 581-3701

Contemporary artists working throughout mainland Southeast Asia continue to draw artistic inspiration from the Buddha and His teachings. Focusing on Buddhism in art since 2000, this presentation surveys a wide range of Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, and Lao artists. It explores the spiritual underpinnings of their work and their diverse and often startling representations of the Buddha and of Buddhist doctrine. We see how centuries-old traditions of Buddhist art are finding fresh, provocative new interpretations in old and new media

Literary Reading: The Life of a Burmese by Khet Mar

Sunday, December 13, 2:00 pm
FREE with museum admissoin

Khet Mar is a journalist, novelist, poet, and essayist from Burma who started writing in 1989 while Burma was going through political turmoil. Most of her short stories are related to the lives and struggles of Burmese people. In 2008, when Cyclone Nagis hit Burma, she established a group of volunteers for relief efforts and led them in supporting cyclone victims in delta region of Burma. She is a co-founder of Green Heart Environmental Network, which was founded with several writers, poets, designers, and journalists. Author of the novel Wild Snowy Night, her work has been translated into English and Japanese, featured on radio broadcasts, and made into a film. She is currently a writer–in–residence at the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh.

Two-day Workshop: Traditional Thai Dance

Saturdays, December 5 & 12, 10:30 am-2:00 pm

$50 for museum members; $84 for public (includes general admission and entry to Emerald Cities for both days);

Space limited, pre-registration is required: publicprograms@asianart.org or (415) 581-3665.

Dance instructors from the Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area will lead this class introducing graceful and precise classical Thai dance. Dances will include stories from Thai history, literature, and mythology borrowing largely from Hindu traditions and the customs of ancient royal courts.

Enjoy the holiday season with art activities! No registration required – drop-in, make, and take a piece of art home with you. For available dates, please check our e-calendar.

Gather your loved ones to literally "ring in" the New Year at the Asian Art Museum. Based on the Buddhist custom of striking a temple bell 108 times on New Year's Eve to wipe away the bad experiences, wrong deeds, and ill luck of the past year, tolling the bell welcomes the start of a joyous and prosperous fresh start. Be part of this very special, popular event -- strike the 2100-lb., 16th-century Japanese bronze bell to ensure a smashing 2010! Numbered tickets to ring the bell will be distributed at the Admissions Desk starting at 10:00 am (one ticket per family or group; first come, first served). Click here for details on ticketing.

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Chinese artwork

...that during our Japanese Bell-Ringing Ceremony, the bell is struck 108 times to curb the 108 mortal desires, which according to Buddhist belief, torment mankind? It's an auspicious way of symbolically welcoming the new year and hoping for a positive start. You're all welcome to participate in our ceremony!

Click here for information on hosting a wedding or corporate event at the Asian Art Museum.