National Museum of Asian Art Announces Memoranda of Understanding With Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts for the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has announced the signing of memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts for the Kingdom of Cambodia and Badan Layanan Umum Museum dan Cagar Budaya, a unit under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, which outline ways the National Museum of Asian Art will seek to collaborate with these entities to address pressing issues in the global cultural heritage sector.

These MOUs build on the National Museum of Asian Art’s longstanding tradition of sharing its expertise on a global scale through projects that emphasize research and cultural exchange. They signal the National Museum of Asian Art’s commitment to working collaboratively across all areas of museum practice, including:

• Staff exchanges and professional development
• Museum management and practice
• Exhibitions and object loans
• Research projects in such areas as art history, conservation, cultural heritage preservation and provenance

“The National Museum of Asian Art has a long history of working together with colleagues across Southeast Asia,” said Chase F. Robinson, the museum’s director. “MOUs such as these allow us to deepen our knowledge by working with peers to build skills in all areas of museum practice, collaborate on a range of research projects and share their cultural heritage with our respective communities. It is through such partnerships that we strengthen the museum field globally and address audience expectations today.”

In its second century, the National Museum of Asian Art has taken a global turn. These partnerships with Cambodia and Indonesia animate the museum’s four strategic plan goals: to expand, preserve and celebrate its collections; to identify, attract and serve new and diverse audiences through both its physical and digital spaces; to foster an object-inspired understanding of the arts, communities, cultures and societies of Asia; and to build a museum culture that is creative, collaborative, transparent and resourceful.

Cultural Heritage Preservation and Global Partnership Initiatives

These MOUs are the latest example of the National Museum of Asian Art’s portfolio in cultural heritage preservation and global partnerships.

Other recent initiatives include:

• An international research project supported by the Carnegie Corp. to understand the challenges and gaps in protecting cultural heritage objects and workers in times of military/political crisis
• Field-leading provenance projects, including the first major symposium Nov. 1–4 on Asian art provenance research, convening experts from around the world
• A historic partnership with the Republic of Yemen Government to care for Yemeni objects repatriated by the U.S. government
• A major grant from the National Museum of Korea as part of its 2023 Overseas Korean Galleries Support Program to support an international loan show and staff exchanges, among other projects
• Capacity building and staff exchanges with museums across Asia
• International workshops and training opportunities in the museum’s department of conservation and scientific research
• Numerous global collaborative exhibitions including:
  • “A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur” (Nov. 19, 2022–May 14, 2023), one of the museum’s lead centennial exhibitions, included 25 paintings loaned from the City Palace Museum in Udaipur, which were prepared by the Palace Museum’s conservation lab that the National Museum of Asian Art helped to establish
  • “Masterpieces from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art: Special Exhibition Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of America’s First National Museum of Art” (Oct. 13–Nov. 3, 2023), an innovative presentation at Japan’s oldest Zen temple, Kenninji, in Kyoto, featuring 18 high-resolution facsimiles of Japanese artworks in the Freer collection made possible through a partnership with Canon Inc. and the Kyoto Culture Association
  • “Fashioning an Empire: Textiles from Safavid Iran” at the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar (Oct. 23, 2023–April 20, 2024) was first conceived of and presented at the National Museum of Asian Art and includes 12 works from its collections
  • The famed collection of the late Samsung chairman, Lee Kun-hee, to be mounted fall 2025, which is part of an ongoing partnership with the National Museum of Korea that involves numerous departments in the museum

About the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art is committed to preserving, exhibiting, researching and interpreting art in ways that deepen our collective understanding of Asia, the United States and the world. Home to more than 46,000 objects, the museum stewards one of North America’s largest and most comprehensive collections of Asian art, with works dating from antiquity to the present from China, Japan, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Islamic world. Its rich holdings bring the arts of Asia into direct dialogue with an important collection of 19th- and early 20th-century art from the United States, providing an essential platform for creative collaboration and cultural exchange between the U.S., Asia and the Middle East.

Beginning with a 1906 gift that paved the way for the museum’s opening in 1923, the National Museum of Asian Art is a leading resource for visitors, students and scholars in the United States and internationally. Its galleries, laboratories, archives and library are located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and are part of the world’s largest museum complex, which typically reports more than 27 million visits each year. The museum is free and open to the public 364 days a year (closed Dec. 25), making its exhibitions, programs, learning opportunities and digital initiatives accessible to global audiences.

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