A Message from the Museum Director

Dear friends,

This has been a week of uncertainties, coming after an unprecedented and difficult spring and summer. Even though we are beginning to venture outside our homes again, with the pandemic still raging, we likely feel even less connected to one another than ever before. As we enter the weekend, though, I invite you to connect — to art, to culture, to contemplation, and most importantly to one another.

As a museum that features historic and contemporary art from across the Asian world — a region representing more than 60% of the global population — we believe it is our duty to offer meaningful opportunities for discovery and a deeper understanding of those around us — of how all our influences, beliefs, and values can intersect and connect. As I walk through the museum’s galleries, I am reminded that the diversity of our cultures also illuminates the similarities — because art’s power to connect is in the stories it tells. Old stories that keep us grounded in tradition. New stories that liberate us from painful legacies. Stories of beauty we can tell each other over and over again.

It is my sincere hope that you, like me, will come to depend on our museum as a place that will nurture these many opportunities for connection. I invite you to use the code CONNECT2020 to reserve a free ticket that may be used any time over the next 30 days, by Sunday, December 6. After you visit, please share your experience — your story — with me at [email protected], as well as any thoughts you might have on what more we at the museum can do to help create a more connected world. I’d love to hear from you.

Reserve your free ticket with code CONNECT2020

Jay Xu
Barbara Bass Bakar Director and CEO