Asian American and Pacific Islander Artists
Celebrate the exceptional historical and contemporary creative cultural contributions made by Asian American and Pacific Islander artists with videos, stories, and more. With one of the nation’s most comprehensive collections of the arts of Asia, Mia is a vibrant resource for the appreciation of Asian cultural heritage, both past and present.
Current Special Exhibitions
The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989
March 23, 2024 – June 23, 2024
This exhibition features the first generation of artists of Korean descent to experience the new freedoms and rapid changes ushered in by democracy. Born between 1960 and 1986, they came of age in a time of transition, their work filtered through the collective memory of authoritarian rule in South Korea.
Free Exhibition Tours
Free public exhibition tours for “The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989” take place at 2 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and 7 p.m. on Thursday. An exhibition ticket is required. Tours are not offered on Member Days and during Art in Bloom.
Virtual tours take place on April 7 at 2 p.m., May 8 at 2 p.m., and June 6 at 7 p.m. An exhibition ticket is not necessary. Registration is required.
Current Exhibitions
The Root Collection: Living with Japanese Ceramics
August 19, 2023 – May 12, 2024
This exhibition, in the Japanese galleries, presents a selection of tea bowls and other tea ware, standing and hanging vases, as well as sculpture. The Roots did not venture into Japanese ceramics until 2001, when they acquired the first of almost 50 tea bowls. The collection eventually encompassed 168 works, dominated by functional ware.
Explore the Art
Explore
Explore artwork by Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander artists in Mia’s collection.
Podcasts
“The Object” podcast explores the surprising, true stories behind museum objects with wit and curiosity. An object’s view of us. Hosted by Tim Gihring, produced by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Ghost Ships Of Xu Fu
King of Hills: The Mountain That Came to Dinner
Lord of the Dance: An Indian Icon Goes Global
Past Exhibitions
Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes
March 4, 2023 – May 21, 2023
Featuring some 150 Chinese bronze objects from Mia’s collection, “Eternal Offerings” offers an immersive experience designed to evoke the mystery of heavenly and ancestral worship. Each gallery will embody a facet of the rituals enacted to honor the divinities, from the solemnity of the temple, to the intoxication of lavish banquets.
The Art of Literacy in Early Modern Japan
March 25, 2023 – August 6, 2023
Reading and writing were popular pastimes in early modern Japan. From the 1600s to the 1800s, the printing industry developed rapidly, making printed materials available to readers in urban and rural areas alike. This exhibition considers two forms of literacy, textual and visual, that enabled people to participate in a burgeoning public life.
Azechi Umetarō: Call of the Mountains
April 22, 2023 – January 21, 2024
Azechi Umetarō (1902–1999) loved the mountains. As he grew older, he often hiked mid-sized mountains alone; they gave him an opportunity to meditate on life. The simplified figures of the bearded mountain men (yama-otoko), who reappear throughout his work, embody his love and appreciation for the environment.
Fukuda Kodōjin: Japan’s Great Poet and Landscape Artist
April 22, 2023 – July 23, 2023
Fukuda Kodōjin (1865–1944) was one of a handful of scholar-artists who continued the tradition of Japanese literati painting (nanga) after 1900. Kodōjin’s painting style is characterized by bizarrely shaped mountain forms rendered in vivid color or monochromatic ink that often include a solitary scholar enjoying the expansive beauty of nature.
Chaos: Ken Matsubara’s Buddhist Masterwork
September 2, 2023 – April 14, 2024
Two paintings, 600 years apart: the 14th century Taima Mandala and the 20th century Chaos by Ken Matsubara. Despite the chronological distance between them, these two pieces are connected by Buddhist threads. In this installation, accompanied by the echoes of singing bowls, the visitor acts as the bridge between Matsubara’s depiction of human struggle and the Taima Mandala’s immaculate Pure Land.
Teo Nguyen: Việt Nam Peace Project
July 30, 2022 – June 18, 2023
Teo Nguyen’s work invites contemplation and reflection on the Vietnamese people’s struggles toward peace and what the artist calls “the politics of worthiness.” In an act of reclamation that shines a light on Vietnam beyond the war, Nguyen’s photorealist paintings reference historic images by photojournalists documenting the war in Vietnam, but reimagine them without violence.
Amano Kazumi: Prints from the Kimm-Grufferman Collection
May 29, 2021 – May 29, 2022
From black and white figural designs to colorful, abstract forms, the work of Japanese print artist Amano Kazumi shows a constant metamorphosis.
Yee I-Lann: Picturing Power
April 23, 2022 – November 13, 2022
In this striking series of images, Yee I-Lann creates graphically distinctive photographic assemblages to address the legacies of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. By appropriating historical photographs sourced from colonial archives in the Netherlands and arranging them with her own photography, the artist provides new grounds for interpreting imperialism in Southeast Asia.
Program Videos
Watch videos about Asian American and Pacific Islander artists, including Tiffany Chung, Noriko Furunishi, Pao Her, Sieng Lee, Wing Young Huie, Chamindika Wanduragala, and Marcus Young
Self-Care through Art
Close Looking and Drawing Exercise
During these challenging and uncertain times, empathy and compassion are crucial as we care for others. And self-care is just as important. Art can be a powerful tool for helping us connect with and mediate our own emotions and feelings. Here you can engage in close looking and a drawing exercise inspired by a painting from Mia’s collection by Yayoi Kusama. Also, be inspired by optimistic words of hope from the artist herself about the Covid19 pandemic and resilience.
Arts of Asia
Whether you’re teaching in a new virtual environment or from your classroom, we’ve got you covered with resources designed to support the integration of Asian art and voices into your curriculum.
Virtual Care Package
Send this digital “Care Package” to someone in need of support, inspiration, healing, or creativity. Co-curated with members of the local Asian American Pacific Islander community, this virtual care package includes poetry, films, workshop, and more.