Conversation with Curator Soyoung Lee: Art Museums and Asia/ Asian Diaspora, Past and Future

In this “Asian Century” what is the future of Asian/ Asian diasporic art and culture? Curator Soyoung Lee, a leading voice in Asian art and culture in the U.S., will discuss histories of collecting Asia in U.S. museums and workshop with the audience potential pathways for the future of Asian and Asian diasporic art. This talk and conversation will explore, through select case studies of collecting and presentations of Asian art at major institutions, the paradigm of nation-based collections, the development of a pan-Asian framework, and the expansion into the field of modern and contemporary art. As we look to the future, and with the emerging field of Asian diasporic art, how can museums best support the dynamic, living art world and keep the past relevant?

This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP here. 

About the speaker:

As the Landon and Lavinia Clay Chief Curator at the Harvard Art Museums, Soyoung Lee oversees the museums’ artistic program including building the collections, which number around 255,000 objects from the ancient times to today, across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. A respected scholar of Asian art and a leader in the museum field, Lee has lectured widely in both areas. Her current research interests extend to the history of Asian art collecting in the U.S. and the role of museums in charting the future of Asian and Asian diasporic art and culture. Prior to Harvard, she worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for 15 years. Her exhibitions and publications include Jewelry: The Body Transformed, Diamond Mountains: Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art and Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom. She received her Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, Lee has lived in Seoul, Tokyo, Stockholm, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Cambridge, MA. This fall she is Visiting Senior Fellow in Asian Art and Culture at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center