Shattering the Void: Realms of Meaning in East Asian Art alongside Mother Tongue, Motherhood, and Transculturation works by Shin-hee Chin are on exhibition in the Salina Art Center through March 8, 2020.
Shattering the Void is curated by the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas. This exhibition presents works of art that represent both everyday life and mystical realms within Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Cultures. The Freeman Foundation awarded the Spencer Museum of Art $437,261 to develop a K-12 outreach program focused on Asian art.
Through this two-year grant, the Spencer Museum partnered with USD 305 and Salina Arts & Humanities to create educational resources for teachers and elementary students in Central Kansas using Asian works of art from the Spencer’s collection. The two programs then collaborated with Salina Art Center and provided funding for the Shattering the Void exhibition and subsequent programming at the Art Center.
Educators were treated to an exclusive preview reception where they learned about curriculum resources and bus funds to help pay for field trips and received classroom resources to extend learning. During the exhibition, educators are encouraged to schedule tours and field trips while taking advantage of online curriculum resources created through the partnership. The educator preview was funded by the Freeman Foundation with support from The Salina Education Foundation, Salina Arts & Humanities, Salina Art Center, and the Spencer Museum of Art. Mother Tongue, Motherhood, and Transculturation works by Shin-hee Chin reflects the binary approach – East vs. West, female vs. male, art vs. craft, yin vs. yang, faith vs. (secular) world, figurative vs. non figurative, abstract vs. concrete, idea vs. form etc. All those paradoxes inhabit the same space, just as Asia and America co-exist in the artist.
Special programming funded through this project includes:
Feb. 7 from 5-7 p.m., exhibition reception. Special guest Saralyn Reece Hardy, Marilyn Stokstad Director at the Spencer Museum of Art will make comments at 6 p.m. Enjoy music by visiting percussionist, Dr. Fofo Tai-Jung Jackson, performing contemporary and Asian folk music on the marimba. Food by Seoul USA Korean Restaurant and Daimaru Steakhouse & Sushi Bar. This event is free and open to everyone.
Feb. 7 from 7-8 p.m., You don't want to miss a public performance of Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Company's original production of "In the Mirror, 3 Tales from Asia." This free event is brought to you by the Arts Infusion program through Salina Arts & Humanities.
Feb. 9 from 2-4 p.m., join Jenny Davis and make fish prints on Second Sunday. This event is free and open to everyone.
Feb. 19 from noon-1 p.m., Ayako Mizumura will teach Lunch & Learn participants about the tea ceremony. Guests are welcome to bring a sack lunch. This event is free and open to everyone.
For more information about programming, visit www.SalinaArtCenter.org or follow them on social media.