Cultural Tourism DC Calendar

The Peacock Room was originally designed in the 1870s as a grand display space for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. Why was Chinese porcelain so popular across Europe and America at that time? How did an international craze for Chinese porcelain arise, and where is its influence still seen today? This discussion traces the history of Chinese ceramics exported during the Victorian era and explores the lasting effect of this global trade commodity on Chinese manufacturing practices and Western consumer culture. Stacey Pierson leads a gallery talk in the Peacock Room after the panel discussion.

Stacey Pierson is a Reader in Chinese Ceramics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She is the author of Collectors, Collections and Museums: The Field of Chinese Ceramics in Britain, 1560–1960 and Chinese Ceramics: A Design History.

Lee Glazer, Director of the Lunder Institute for American Art at Colby College, was formerly the Curator of American Art at the Freer and Sackler.

Jan Stuart, the Melvin R. Seiden Curator of Chinese Art at the Freer and Sackler, wrote Joined Colors: Design and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain (with Louise Cort) and has curated numerous exhibitions featuring Asian ceramics.

Image credit: Detail, The Peacock Room in Blue and White

How have social and political changes in Iran affected the lives of artists? Gain insights into the exhibition My Iran with a curator who discusses works by six women photographers, exploring their aesthetic visions and the cultural context of their works. Then, stick around for a film screening later in the afternoon as part of the annual Iranian film festival!

What counts as jade? Join scientist Matthew Clarke for an exploration of this fascinating category of stone, including its composition and the working methods used to create the ancient Chinese jade objects on view.

How have social and political changes in Iran affected the lives of artists? Gain insights into the exhibition My Iran with a curator who discusses works by six women photographers, exploring their aesthetic visions and the cultural context of their works. Then, stick around for a film screening later in the afternoon as part of the annual Iranian film festival!

Join curator Simon Rettig for an in-depth exploration of this virtual exhibition that revitalizes devastated sites in Syria and Iraq through large-scale projections and digital reconstructions.

Born in Tehran and based in London, Mitra Tabrizian is a photographer and filmmaker who explores themes of migration and social fragmentation. Much of her work critiques corporate culture, the urban landscape, and the concept of the homeland. Learn about her work in film and in the photographs on view in My Iran when she joins Carol Huh, Freer Sackler Associate Curator of Contemporary Asian art in conversation.

How is social media changing the social conditions for women in Iran today? Through the use of hashtags, such as #whitewednesdays, #mystealthyfreedom, and #mycameraismyweapon, recent campaigns for women’s rights in Iran have highlighted the voices of women living in that country and in the diaspora. Iranian women are expressing their strength and resilience through unapologetic visibility in physical spaces and by producing and sharing iconic imagery online. At the same time, issues of access and censorship hinder the use of social media for social movements. This discussion examines how women’s rights movements are using internet technologies to discuss issues of identity, dignity, and justice and to contest the gender-based discriminatory laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). Join scholar Layla Hashemi and journalist Dorothy Parvaz for a discussion of the use of social media for public expression and the role of the camera in art and daily life.

Layla M. Hashemi is a Policy PhD candidate at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and a graduate research assistant at George Mason University’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center (TraCCC). Her current research focuses on illicit trade, human trafficking, and corruption in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Hashemi has worked for various governmental and non-governmental organizations. She is currently an adjunct professor of political science at Montgomery College, where she teaches courses on comparative politics, international conflict resolution, and global human rights.

Dorothy Parvaz, an editor at National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, is a DC-based journalist with expertise in politics and foreign policy. Previously based in Doha and New York, she worked for Al Jazeera covering conflict, democracy, human rights, and migration. She has reported extensively on issues in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asian regions, and her experience as a journalist includes working at the Asahi Evening News in Tokyo, the Arizona Republic, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and the Seattle Times, covering wildfires, riots, anarchists, and more.

How have social and political changes in Iran affected the lives of artists? Gain insights into the exhibition My Iran with a curator who discusses works by six women photographers, exploring their aesthetic visions and the cultural context of their works. Then, stick around for a film screening later in the afternoon as part of the annual Iranian film festival!

On Valentine’s Day, take a moment to celebrate love in the museum galleries. Discover classic love stories depicted in artworks from across Asia in this special talk.

Image: Detail, Beaker; Iran, Saljuq period, late 12th century; stone-paste painted over glaze with enamel; Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1928.2

Stop by our conservation cart to learn about the many materials behind the construction and conservation of Japanese paintings, including silk, paper, animal glue, and more with conservation fellow Catriona Whiteside.

A single object—a beautiful gilt wood sculpture of Gwaneum, the bodhisattva of compassion and the most popular deity in Korean Buddhism—is the focus of this symposium. Carved in the late Goryeo period (918–1392), this crowned image is now known to be the oldest surviving Korean gilded wood figure in an informal pose. Sacred texts and potent symbolic objects were sealed inside this hollow religious sculpture when it was first placed into worship in the thirteenth century. Bokjang, the practice of adding dedication material to a Buddhist sculpture during consecration ceremonies, was believed to transform it into a living body.

This symposium, organized in conjunction with the exhibition Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece, examines recent research findings surrounding the sculpture and its dedication materials. It also places Korean image consecration practice in a broader East Asian context. Speakers discuss living traditions of making religious images and consecration ceremonies in contemporary Korean Buddhism.

The event is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea. The keynote address and reception on Thursday, February 20, are hosted by the Korean Cultural Center.

An English-language version of all papers is available at the keynote and symposium.

Registration is required to these free events.

Participants are also encouraged to attend the related Korean Buddhist Dedication Demonstration on Saturday afternoon, February 22, organized in conjunction with the exhibition Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece.

Visit Symposium: Korean Buddhist Images and Dedication Practice to view a program and other information.