Skip to main content

Exploring Asian Art: Form, Function, and Interpretation – NCTA in-person Summer Program

Photo credit: L Fried, courtesy of SAAM

Educators spent three days exploring works of Asian art on display at the Seattle Art Museum and Seattle Asian Art Museum. Utilizing the collection of the Seattle Art Museum, we considered the original context within which objects were created and followed them along their paths of trade, transformation, and influence. This study included close consideration of objects of devotion, utilitarian objects, and contemporary expressions crafted from a multitude of materials and taking shape in various forms. Additionally, we discussed points of inspiration taken by artists who encounter these works anew and as part of the legacy of their cultural heritage.

This three-day intensive workshop connected the objects in the collection of the Seattle Art Museum to curriculum across subjects, including Social Studies, Visual Art, World History, Language Arts, Asian Studies, and Art History. Participants engaged with resources firsthand and explored what they could bring back to your classroom. Educators from the Seattle Art Museum and the East Asia Resource Center provided frameworks for integrating the museum collection into your teaching practice.

Dates and time

Thursday, August 1, 2024, from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM at the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
Friday, August 2, 2024, from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM at the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
Saturday, August 3, 2024, from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM at the Seattle Art Museum.

Location

This in-person program took place at the Seattle Art Museum and Seattle Asian Art Museum in Seattle, WA.

Program Leaders

Melanie King, Art historian and educator.

Yaoyao Liu, Manager of school & Educator Programs, Seattle Art Museum.

Program benefits

  • Free access to the Seattle Art Museum and to the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
  • Meals included.
  • Online resources.
  • Free WA OSPI clock hours.

Program requirements

Participating educators were required to attend all three days of the workshop.

Online Resources

Click here to view the Padlet site for this program.

This program was sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).