Asia Society Museum Announces New Dates for Inaugural Triennial

New York; April 23, 2020–Asia Society Museum announced today new dates for its inaugural Triennial due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. The Asia Society Triennial is the first recurring initiative in the United States devoted to contemporary art from and about Asia and Asian diasporas. It is now slated to run October 27, 2020 through June 27, 2021.

Originally programmed to take place from June 5–August 9, 2020, this groundbreaking initiative will now unfold in two successive parts at Asia Society Museum, and across select participating venues throughout Manhattan. The first part will run from October 27, 2020, through February 7, 2021, and the second part from March 16, 2021, through June 27, 2021. The longer duration will allow for greater flexibility in scheduling, more artistic and educational programming, and new visitor safety protocols.

“Throughout history, pandemics have shown us how vulnerable we are, but also how we give each other strength and hope by coming together,” said Agnes Hsu-Tang, Ph.D., Executive Chair of the Asia Society Triennial. “We believe that the Triennial will be a potent manifestation of the power of art to bring humanity back to a divided, vulnerable, post-COVID-19 world, especially at a time when racism against Asians and Asian Americans has resurged in our society. We are profoundly grateful to our supporters and partner institutions, who have stood firmly by us as we navigated the many difficult challenges to keep the Triennial viable and strong.”

Entitled We Do Not Dream Alone, the exhibition and performance program has been reconceived by Dr. Hsu-Tang, Artistic Director of the Triennial and Asia Society Museum Director Boon Hui Tan, and Executive Director of Global Artistic Programs Ken Tan, in response to these unprecedented times. “By presenting the exhibition over a longer period of time and in two consecutive parts, we are moving away from the crush of spectacle associated with many international art events,” said Boon Hui Tan. “This reconfiguration will create a more spread out, yet intimate experience of the artworks while enabling necessary physical distancing. We intend for the exhibition to be one that may be returned to more than once and slowly absorbed, like slow food.”

The exhibition features over 40 artists and collectives from 20 countries. The participating artists and collectives work across a variety of disciplines including painting, sculpture, photography, video, fiber art, and performance, and nearly half have been commissioned to create new work. There will be a fully illustrated exhibition catalogue and an expanded digital component.

Further details about the Asia Society Triennial and updates to Asia Society Museum’s forthcoming exhibitions will be available in the coming weeks. For the latest information on the Triennial, please visit AsiaSociety.org/triennial.  

Executive Chair
Agnes Hsu-Tang, Ph.D.

Artistic Director
Boon Hui Tan, Vice President for Global Artistic Programs at Asia Society and Director of Asia Society Museum                                                                 

Cocurators
Boon Hui Tan and Michelle Yun, Associate Director of the Triennial and Senior Curator of Contemporary Asian Art at Asia Society Museum

Guest curators
Susan L. Beningson, Ph.D., curator of We the People: Xu Bing and Sun Xun Respond to the Declaration of Independence 
Giovanna Fulvi, curator of the Triennial film series
Wendy N. E. Ikemoto, Ph.D. curator of Dreaming Together: New-York Historical Society and Asia Society Museum at the New-York Historical Society, a collateral exhibition

Asia Society Museum presents a wide range of traditional, modern, and contemporary exhibitions of Asian and Asian American art, taking new approaches to familiar masterpieces and introducing under-recognized arts and artists. The Asia Society Museum Collection comprises a traditional art collection, including the initial bequests of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, and a contemporary art collection. Through exhibitions and public programs, Asia Society provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in both traditional and contemporary Asian art, and in Asia today.

Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational institution based in New York with state-of-the-art cultural centers and gallery spaces in Hong Kong and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, Washington, D.C., and Zurich.

Asia Society Museum is located at 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City.

To stay informed about Asia Society and our New York offerings, visit AsiaSociety.org/NY and @AsiaSocietyNY.