Featured Initiatives

Starting with an Act of Faith

Charles Lang Freer founded our museum with a gift of his collection to the Smithsonian, including his library and archives. He also provided support for the construction of the building in addition to generous endowments so that his gallery would continue to foster an understanding of and appreciation for art. His gift was an act of faith: not only was the National Mall more of an idea than a reality in 1906, but Freer was giving over his life’s work to a nation with little background in supporting arts and culture and to a Smithsonian that was, at that time, almost entirely devoted to science and technology, with no real experience in managing, conserving, or exhibiting world-class art. One hundred years after Freer founded a gallery to address challenges he cared deeply about, we’re celebrating our centennial by asking questions our audiences are invested in. What does that mean in practice? We’re building on our strengths—the quality and depth of our collections, scholarship, and conservation—while also moving in new directions, experimenting, and telling new stories. As the National Museum of Asian Art, we feel a special responsibility to be more accessible and legible to the public as we enter our second century.

The Arts of Devotion

The Arts of Devotion is a five-year initiative at the National Museum of Asian Art that has been generously funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The Arts of Devotion aims to further civil discourse around religion through the museum’s collections of Hindu and Buddhist art and arts of the Islamic world. This project focuses on the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. These religions are living traditions that have origins in the broad geographic area of Asia and are now found globally, including in the United States. The Arts of Devotion initiative engages with communities from these religious traditions as well as with other key communities to help deepen our ability to tell stories with the art works that reflect them. With our wealth of resources and experience, the National Museum of Asian Art has a responsibility to step forward in these difficult times and assume a leadership role in the museum field. We must model how to further the public’s understanding of Asian religions and encourage them to think more deeply about the artworks that reflect these religious practices and how these religions live on today.

Courtyard Accessibility

As part of its centennial and in partnership with the Smithsonian’s Office of Planning, Design, and Construction, the one-hundred-year-old courtyard was renovated to include an accessible ramp, opening for the first time the central public space to those who need wheelchair access. The iconic fountain area can now serve as a respite for all the museum’s visitors. This multiyear, multimillion dollar project was completed in April 2023.

Diversifying the Museum Workforce

Internships provide formative experiences and opportunities that can shape the direction of a student’s career path. As the museum prepares to enter its second century amidst a historic reckoning about diversity, equity, and inclusion, we are committed to creating a culture that reflects our country and the cultures represented in our collections. To achieve this goal, the museum has instituted its first paid undergraduate summer internship program to ensure interns of all backgrounds are able to access a paid summer internship program. In partnership with Northern Virginia Community College and several other public colleges and universities, the museum welcomed its first class of paid interns in summer 2022. The museum has also launched the Cheng-Harrell Graduate Internship program. This academic year, part-time, paid opportunity is designed to foster interest and deliver training in museum work annually for five graduate students who may not otherwise have the resources to pursue a career in this professional sector. This program was made possible with a generous contribution from Tai-Heng Cheng.

Protection of Cultural Heritage

Protecting the world’s shared cultural heritage has been at the heart of the museum’s mission since its founding. Today, we are redoubling our efforts to protect cultural heritage in areas represented in our collections by researching the issues in order to provide new solutions for endangered objects and hosting programs to call attention to areas of concern. We are collaborating with communities to define and implement shared stewardship practices and are providing capacity-building exchanges that will strengthen their museums and ensure their staff members have the expertise to protect their cultural heritage.

As part of the museum’s commitment to protecting and preserving cultural heritage across Asia, we have undertaken a two-year research project culminating in the report Protecting International Cultural Heritage and Personnel under Siege: Problems and Prospects for US Organizations. The purpose of the qualitative study was to survey and understand the challenges and gaps in protecting cultural heritage objects and workers in times of military and political crisis. The report catalogues the most salient challenges and opportunities in the field and provides a set of actionable recommendations. We are grateful to Carnegie Corporation of New York for their support of this project.

Provenance Research

Beginning in the early 2000s, the National Museum of Asian Art expanded on the Smithsonian’s centralized efforts to explore the provenance histories of objects across its collections. The museum’s provenance program deepens our commitment to scholarship and transparency of collections information. We hope it serves as a model of promoting international awareness, standardized research methodologies, and information exchange between the international museum community and the public