Asian Studies Supplemented in the Pioneer Valley
Exhibit, Educator Workshop, Guided Tours, Performance Art & Free Family Day
Image credit: Yue Minjun. Chinese, born 1962. The Grassland Series Woodcut 1 (Diving Figure), 2008 Woodcut on medium weight lightly textured cream wove paper. Gift of Pace Editions Incorporated and Ethan Cohen Fine Arts courtesy of Ann and Richard Solomon (Ann Weinbaum, class of 1959) and Ethan Cohen Photograph by Petegorsky/Gipe.
Educational opportunities are numerous over the next few months for those interested in teaching and learning about Asian art! The Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, MA will be opening a new exhibit on Asian art beginning February 1st through May 26th, 2013. Titled, Collecting Art of Asia, the exhibit celebrates the 100th anniversary of the museum’s first acquisition of Asian art and includes work from the museum’s permanent collection, as well as promised gifts to the museum. Work included in the two-floor exhibit comes from China, Japan, Korea, and much of south and southeastern Asia, and highlights significant movements and people in the history of Asian art, as well as significant and historic gifts to the museum’s collection.
Educators can attend a workshop hosted by the museum that will share suggestions for teaching about the interdisciplinary connections found between Asian and Western art objects. Open to K-12 teachers, the workshop will also include an overview of “Collecting Art of Asia,” and resources for teaching shared by Five College Center for East Asian Studies director Anne Prescott. The workshop takes place on February 6th from 10am-3pm ($). Registration required – call 413-585-2781 or e-mail museduc@smith.edu to sign up.
The Smith College Museum of Art welcomes groups of students to visit, and offers guided tours of the museum. Classes, homeschool groups, and other groups of learners from PreK-12th grade can visit the museum to supplement their studies of Asian art, culture, and history. Tours can be designed to fit specific needs, or groups can participate in the general tour designed to accompany the exhibit. Educators can use a visit to the museum to supplement explorations into the history of Asian art, as well as studies of Asian culture and history.
On Saturday, March 2nd from 10am-3pm, Smith College Museum of Art will host a free family day. Billed as “Art of Asia,” families can participate in hands-on projects that were inspired by fishermen, flowers and fireworks, all on view in the Collecting Art of Asia exhibition. Projects are perfect for families with PreK-12th youth and their guardians.
Finally, at the UMass Fine Arts Center in Amherst will host Chinese Theater Works performing Toy Theater Peony Pavilion as part of the Global Arts: Performances for Schools series. The performance, open to grades 3-8, will take place at 10am on March 7th, 2013. The show combines the 16th century Chinese Kun Opera with modern Western styles of puppetry to create a unique and beautiful story, following a young maiden through her dreams.
Studies of Asian art and performance can provide a window through which to examine Asian history and culture, and can help provide students with a critical understanding of the evolution of Asian cultures. A look at Asian traditions can also help older students put relations between the United States and east Asian countries such as China and Japan into cultural context. For more information on either the exhibit or the performance, contact the Smith College museum of Arts at 413-585-2781 or the UMass FAC at 413-545-2511.
Emma Kerr is the Natural Science Education Specialist at the Berkshire Museum, where she teaches school and public programs on all subjects, from animation to aquarium animals. A native of central Massachusetts, Emma now lives in Pittsfield.
, which tells a story of the natural and human-impacted history of the Nashua River and it’s restoration and renewal. Though it is a picture book, the topic is sophisticated enough that even slightly older students can appreciate and learn from it.
The museum, which is one of the country’s oldest, also offers virtual educational resources. In addition to offering information on much of the 
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