Strategically located on the Pacific Rim and serving one of the most diverse communities in the United States, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco - Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture is uniquely positioned to lead a diverse, global audience in discovering the distinctive materials, aesthetics and intellectual achievements of Asian art and cultures, and to serve as a bridge of understanding between Asia and the United States and between the diverse cultures of Asia.
Our Vision
With Asia as our lens and art as our cornerstone, we spark connections across cultures and through time, igniting curiosity, conversation, and creativity.
Asia is not one place. The ideas and ideals that we call Asian are countless and diverse. Some of the works we display pre-date written history. Others were recently created. Many have connections to works from other continents and other millennia. We explore these links, provoking discovery, debate, and inspiration.
At the Asian Art Museum, artistic and educational programs empower visitors to discover the relevance of great artworks in profoundly personal ways. Immersed in our galleries, visitors ponder the universal values found in human expression. Through the bustle of daily programs, students of the world steep in cultures through art, music, dance, and tradition. In the clamor of our classrooms, children build bridges to old and new worlds.
This is the vision of our Asian Art Museum.
Our Mission
Our mission is to lead a diverse global audience in discovering the unique material, aesthetic, and intellectual achievements of Asian art and culture.
A local artist honors the Asian American experience while celebrating the ways that food unites us all. Community Feast by Chelsea Ryoko Wong (Chinese Japanese American, b. 1986) depicts a bustling, upbeat scene of diners at a Chinese dim sum…
Read More »Hallyu: The Korean Wave Presale Tickets Available Friday, Aug 16 Discover why millions across the globe can’t get enough K-dramas, K-pop music, K-cinema, and K-fashion in Hallyu! The Korean Wave, the first major museum exhibition…
Read More »Phoenix Kingdoms Opening Apr 19 Be one of the first to discover the masterful fabrication and eye-catching flamboyance of Bronze Age artworks from China’s mysterious Yangzi River Valley kingdoms. Erased from history and reborn as legend,…
Read More »PLAN YOUR VISIT Unlock a World of Imagination Family-Friendly Activities Did you know the Asian Art Museum is full of family-friendly activities and kids 12 and under are always free? Our newly opened East West Bank Art Terrace is a great…
Read More »NEW EXHIBITION Into View: New Voices, New Stories Opening Friday, Jan 19 Save the date! Our first special exhibition of 2024 opens Friday, January 19. Into View: New Voices, New Stories features recently acquired paintings, sculptures,…
Read More »Still need holiday gifts and stocking stuffers? Pick up a monstrous present for your weirdly lovable loved ones at the Cha May Ching Museum Boutique! This is also the last restock of Murakami merchandise, so don’t delay! Plus, feel good about…
Read More »This holiday season, I look back with gratitude at a year of auspicious beginnings and unprecedented successes. Without a doubt, this was a year full of celebration: we welcomed record-breaking crowds to a blockbuster Takashi Murakami exhibition,…
Read More »Plan Your Holiday Visit Bask in a moment of peace at The Heart of Zen and delight in the weirdly lovable monsters of Murakami: Monsterized with family and loved ones this season! Plus, get creative with the kids in the Monster Lab, enjoy a boba…
Read More »The Heart of Zen Opening Tomorrow On view for only six weeks, The Heart of Zen is the long-awaited American debut of two famed but rarely exhibited treasures from a Zen temple. Explore the history and significance of these beloved ink paintings,…
Read More »Monsterize Yourself for Halloween Get Strange With Us Have a monstrous Halloween with Takashi Murakami’s weirdly lovable and lovably weird monsters! Blurring the line between frightening and fun, Murakami’s first solo exhibition in the…
Read More »East West Bank Art Terrace Opening Celebration Sunday, Oct 2 | 5 PM This Monday, Oct 2 at 5 p.m., join us to celebrate the opening of the East West Bank Art Terrace with live music and drinks! Explore our newest large-scale contemporary…
Read More »Takashi Murakami: Unfamiliar People — Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego Opens Friday, Sep 15 Takashi Murakami’s first solo exhibition in San Francisco, hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “exuberant,” opens…
Read More »NEW AT THE MUSEUM Four Brand New Large-Scale Artworks Now On View With inspirations ranging from the Hubble Space Telescope to the Buddhist stupa, take a closer look at our newest large-scale contemporary sculptures and commissioned…
Read More »Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds Final Month “There is a presumption that all representations of Hell across Asian cultures are the same, but in fact depictions of Hell have been extraordinarily diverse." - Jeff Durham, Curator of Himalayan…
Read More »Click here to View the Information About "Asian Art Museum News - July 28, 2023"
Read More »New for July Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art Film Series: "Umrao Jaan" Thursday, July 6 | 6 PM Watch the last film in this series exploring the origins of modern Bollywood. "Umrao Jaan" follows a courtesan and poet who falls in…
Read More »Loud & Proud Sunday, June 25 This weekend, celebrate the 53rd Annual San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration, which takes place right outside our doors! We’re thrilled to partner with 18 other Bay Area museums and cultural…
Read More »TWO NEW EXHIBITIONS Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds & Bernice Bing: Open Call NOW OPEN First, take a a rollicking romp through the many ways that Asian visual cultures have imagined the afterlife of the condemned at Hell: Arts of…
Read More »Click here to View the Information About "Asian Art Museum News - May 26, 2023"
Read More »Dine & Dance Dine and dance with art! Dance through Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art and then head to Asian Box on the first floor of the museum for a mouth-watering menu of fast-casual fare. Try seasonal items inspired by Beyond…
Read More »CULTURAL CELEBRATION Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration Sunday, May 7 | 11 AM Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with dance and music traditions from across South and Southeast Asia as featured…
Read More »As you may have already read in the San Francisco Chronicle, after 15 years of my service to the Asian Art Museum—Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, the museum board and I are beginning a methodical process of succession planning…
Read More »Art You Can Experience "Pop Up" Dance Performances in Beyond Bollywood Second Sundays & Fourth Thursdays Visit our newest exhibition Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art to watch the galleries come to life with "Pop Up" Dance Dialogue…
Read More »Women's History Month & International Women's Day March is Women’s History Month, and today is International Women’s Day — a perfect opportunity to honor the many women artists and creators whose work we celebrate throughout…
Read More »Family Fun Day & Free First Sunday March 5 | 11 AM Join us for Family Fun Day on Free First Sunday to get creative with a hands-on activity inspired by Nowruz traditions. Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebration, honors light over darkness…
Read More »As we gather in celebration with friends and family, I am reminded just how brightly the enthusiasm and support of our community have shined this year. Thank you for joining us for a series of powerful exhibitions and programs that garnered rave…
Read More »ART YOU CAN TREASURE Holiday Gift Guide Searching for a gift that your loved ones will treasure and will support the museum at the same time? Find the perfect gift with our Holiday Gift Guide! Browse the Cha May Ching Museum Boutique for a…
Read More »Asian Art Museum Happening in December 2022 ART YOU CAN EXPERIENCE Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk Hailed as "stunning" by the San Francisco Examiner, immerse yourself in a neon animated world at Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk this…
Read More »PLAN YOUR VISIT A Place to Gather Thanksgiving Hours Just as ancient bronzes unite with neon-soaked animations at Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk, we are thankful to be a space of gathering and reunions for all. This Thanksgiving weekend,…
Read More »“Multidimensional… provokes hope, urgency and reflection.” — KQED Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk Now Open Immerse yourself in an animated futurist fantasy! Award-winning animation director and visual artist Kongkee…
Read More »Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk Save the date! Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk makes its North American debut on Friday, Nov. 18! Dive into an immersive animated fantasy and journey from ancient China to a neon-soaked future of popstars and…
Read More »Family Fun Day & Free First Sunday Sunday, Nov 6 Join us for Family Fun Day this Sunday, Nov. 6 for Diwali-inspired art activities and storytelling in the galleries! Plus, see new artworks in the collection galleries and current special…
Read More »Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk OPENING NOV 18 Happy Halloween! We hope you enjoy these Halloween treats including the announcement of a new exhibition opening in the Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion. This November, explore an immersive…
Read More »Open Call for Artists and Writers Into View: Bernice Bing Into View: Bernice Bing shines a light on an important local Asian American artist who has only recently gained broad recognition for her achievements. In collaboration with the Asian…
Read More »NOW ON VIEW Buy Tickets Hambrecht Contemporary Gallery Discover the life and career of modern artist Bernice "Bingo" Bing (1936–1998), a San Francisco original. Into View: Bernice Bing celebrates the museum’s acquisition of 20…
Read More »“Carlos Villa’s first major retrospective makes Filipino Art History.” —W. Filipino American History Month Celebrate Filipino American History Month! This October, honor the accomplishments, pursuits, creativity, and…
Read More »Special Exhibition Carlos Villa: Worlds in Collision “To enter a gallery of Villa’s objects is to come into contact with an almost supernatural presence — as if, at any moment, these artifacts of imagined rituals might come…
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