Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art Celebrate the 2015 Cherry Blossom Festival

  • February 18, 2015
Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art Celebrate the 2015 Cherry Blossom Festival
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian's museums of Asian art, will host an array of events in honor of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C.'s popular springtime celebration, including a daylong family event March 28 exploring Japanese art, crafts, film and fashion, themed ArtJamz painting parties and a book signing of the new commemorative publication Cherry Blossoms featuring artwork from the collections.

Visitors can also see cherry trees bloom starting March 7 in "Seasonal Landscapes in Japanese Screens," an exhibition featuring Japanese painted folding screens from the 16th and 17th centuries.

On Saturday, March 28, the galleries will host a premiere event of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, "Cherry Blossom Celebration," a free, family day where visitors can unleash their inner artist with Washington's popular ArtJamz, take guided tours exploring nature in Japanese arts and browse vintage Japanese kimono for purchase. Anime fans can view classic sci-fi anime films, including the 3-D epic Harlock: Space Pirate, and meet legendary anime director Shinji Aramaki.

Throughout the spring, guests can learn about other well-known expressions of Japanese culture in "Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan"--such as Zen Buddhism, tea drinking and ink painting, which emerged in the 12th-16th centuries. Also on view will be "Oribe Ware: Color and Pattern Come to Japanese Ceramics," an exhibition on the renowned style that introduced vivid pattern and color to Japanese ceramics in 1605. In addition, cherry blossom enthusiasts anywhere in the world can share the splendor of the season digitally with a new suite of free e-cards featuring artworks from the Freer and Sackler collections, available online.

Visit asia.si.edu/cherryblossom for the complete schedule of programs.