Family Programs
Spring Family Festival
Sunday, May 9
10:30 am–4:00 pm
Museum-wide
FREE with museum admission
Ages 3 and up
Celebrate Mother’s Day and the richness of the Bay Area Chinese American community at the Asian Art Museum’s Spring Family Festival! Catch a dance or music performance, observe artist demonstrations, make your own art project, listen to a story in the galleries and more! On hand demonstrating the classic Chinese fan and ribbon dances are members of the China Dance School. Try the dances yourself, and then watch them performed along with dances from Shanghai and other parts of China. Play an instrument and learn hand movements as Faye-Lin Wu and Kieran Dutcher introduce songs and rhymes in two languages with their book, Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes. Author and illustrator Pauline Tsui leads you through a tiger themed art activity inspired by her book, Grandpa's Treasure Box: The Adventures of Bobo and Tashi. Listen to the Asian Art Museum storytellers spin tales from China, hop on a guided family tour and much more!
China Tales
Thursdays, July 1-August 26
11:00–11:30 am
FREE with museum admission
Storytellers in Shanghai kept tradition alive and lively with tales from the classics of Chinese literature. Meet the Monkey King, from the epic Journey to the West, as well as other beloved figures from Shanghai Classic Stories as told by Asian Art Museum Storytellers in celebration of our sister city.
Shanghai Lounge & Art Speak Exhibition
June 26–September 5
During museum hours
FREE with museum admission
Check out original artwork created by the Asian Art Museum’s Art Speak interns, on view in the Shanghai Lounge (second floor). Supported by local art instructors and addressing key themes of the Shanghai exhibition, ten Bay Area teens created original art inspired by identity, place, globalization and the media. They exchanged their work with students from the Shanghai No. 3 Girls’ School, whose pieces will also be on view. On June 26 12:00-4:00 pm, celebrate the opening of the Art Speak exhibit with award-winning artist and cartoonist Gene Yang, who'll discuss his creative process and love for the comic medium in an AsiaAlive presentation.
The Shanghai Lounge is also a relaxing destination for all ages to make art, read books, listen to music and watch videos on an iPad, hear an alternative audio tour for Shanghai, send a postcard to a pal, and more.
On Saturdays and Sundays through August 15, you can meet our Art Speak teen program participants in the Shanghai Lounge. Chat with them about their experiences in making the art on exhibit in the lounge, and make a souvenir button.
Art Speak Exhibition Opening
Saturday, June 26
11:30 am-1:30 pm
FREE with museum admission
Meet and mingle with a talented new generation of artists at the first-ever Art Speak exhibition. At the Shanghai Lounge in the Asian Art Museum, this is an event not to be missed, filled with cool, creative minds and cutting-edge contemporary art. Supported by local art instructors and addressing key themes of the Shanghai exhibition, ten Bay Area teens spent the spring creating original art. They exchanged their work with students from the Shanghai No. 3 Girls’ School, whose pieces will also be on view.
Also appearing is award-winning artist Gene Yang, who discusses his creative process and love for the comic medium in an AsiaAlive presentation.
Comic Drawing Workshop with Gene Yang
Sunday, July 11
10:30 am-2:00 pm
Education Studios
$30 for museum members and youth under 17; $47 for general public (includes general admission and entry to Shanghai); bring your own bag lunch. Space limited, pre-registration required: publicprograms@asianart.org or (415) 581-3665.
In the tradition of Sanmao (the longest running comic strip in China, original drawings of which are in the Shanghai exhibition), award-winning comic artist Gene Yang teaches how to create comics to express your own stories and ideas.
