Moving Objects: Learning from Local and Global Communities

Moving Objects brings community voices directly into the Tateuchi Gallery, providing an opportunity to reflect and share your own point of view on the past and future of objects in the museum collection. In addition to viewing interviews with scholars and community members, visitors are invited to leave comments and feedback, becoming part of an ongoing conversation that informs the museum’s approach to history and collecting.

The exhibition includes four ancient bronze sculptures from northeastern Thailand currently in the process of being returned to their home country. This move comes in response to a formal request from Thailand’s National Museums based on scholarship revealing that the sculptures were sold illegally.

“As a culturally specific institution with significant ties to the communities of Asia and the Asian diaspora, these conversations are especially meaningful for us,” says Dr. Jay Xu, The Barbara Bass Bakar Director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum. “We are uniquely positioned to facilitate dialogues with the communities we represent, and we’re committed to presenting these ongoing inquiries in a forthright and open way.”