Fresh from a major renovation of its interiors, the Freer|Sackler reopens on October 14 with a weekend celebration of Asian art, food and culture. Four special exhibitions also kick off—including one that examines Buddhism in Asian art through objects and immersive spaces.
This seminal exhibit highlights the artistic diversity of Asia, showcasing an array of objects from India, Nepal, Tibet Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia.
Featuring nearly 350 objects and images, from a Tomahawk missile to a can of baking powder, this exhibit demonstrates the ways in which Indian words and images have become ingrained in American culture. It also examines how four Indian narratives—Pocahontas, Thanksgiving, the Trail of Tears and the Battle of Little Bighorn—have engendered enduring fascination and conflict.
This exhibit details the collision of myriad cultures on the Swahili coast in East Africa—a historic crossroads for peoples not only from Africa but also from the Arabian Peninsula, Asia and Europe. Objects on view from a variety
of places and time periods allow viewers to trace the influences of trade and cross-cultural pollination on artistic forms and motifs.
While tattoos and piercings are commonplace today, body modifications in the ancient Americas were invested with spiritual transcendence. This exhibit explores these traditions via works spanning 1200 BCE to 1500 CE, illuminating the artistic metamorphosis of body and spirit.
Korean artist Yun Suknam, a pioneering feminist, creates portraits of women past and present. Anchored by a wood assemblage portrait of her mother, this exhibition also features paintings of American artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Louise Nevelson, Kiki Smith and more.
This exhibit spotlights 25 paintings done by American artist Oliver Lee Jackson during the last 15 years. The large-scale pieces—some of which have never been shown publicly—depict black figures against bright, abstract compositions. Jackson’s influences range from the Renaissance to modernism and are inspired by his study of African cultures and American jazz.
An enduring slice of Americana, the basketball hoop is the subject of 75 large-format prints on display by photographer Bill Bamberger. His images capture hoops of every kind across the globe, from urban, graffiti-covered courts to the playgrounds of South Africa.
Section 14 refers to an area of downtown Palm Springs, California that was the site of a land battle that lasted from the 1940s to the 1960s between developers and Native Americans who resided there because the land was part of their reservation. This exhibition sheds light on the conflict through photographs, documents and plans.
The National Building Museum mined its collection of 320,000 objects related to the built environment to put on this exhibit of architectural objects depicting animals as decorative elements. Sketches, sculptures, architectural drawings and decorative plaster molds are among the many treasures to be showcased.