East-West Center Arts Program Virtual Gallery
Through Her Eyes: Ann Dunham’s Fieldwork in Indonesia
The pioneering global vision of President Barack Obama’s mother and East-West Center alumna, Ann Dunham, can be perceived in these photos taken and artifacts collected while she was conducting field research into the role of women in crafts and cottage industries in Java. The exhibition explores her time in Indonesia as an East-West Center graduate student fellow in Anthropology, and later, her work with USAID, the Ford Foundation, among others.
Port Vila mi lavem yu/Port Vila I love you
Come and sperem pablik rod, or “hang out on the streets” of Vanuatu’s capital city, Port Vila, and get a feel for the hustle-bustle of urban culture. Find out about the people from across Vanuatu’s 81 islands who travel to Port Vila to earn and spend money, to visit, and to learn. Soak in the colors and sights of the cultures, and imagine the sounds of the more than 110 languages to which Vanuatu is home.
The Golden Ceremony: Weddings in Asia
Weddings in Asia not only join together husband and wife, they reaffirm ties binding families and communities. Processions, feasts, and ritual combine in these happy occasions, which are ultimately celebrations of both the continuation and renewal of peoples and cultures. These artifacts and photographs share weddings from China, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Burma/Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan.
Whimsical World: Toys Across Asia
A child’s work is play, and it comes in many forms—games, miniature replicas of people and objects, and toys that move. This exhibition recap gives a window into a child’s world in China, Taiwan, Japan, Pakistan, Korea, Burma/Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka.
North Korean Art on Paper
This exhibit took viewers behind the 48th parallel that demarcates open and vibrant South Korea from the impregnable regime of North Korea. You will learn that although North Korean artists must conform to the state’s rigid expectations in their chujehwa theme paintings and the Chosŏnhwa ink landscape paintings, the images you will see in this recap allow a rare glimpse of the people and lands behind the so-called “Bamboo Curtain.”
Kyrgyzstan: Nomadic Life in the Modern World
Nomadic lifestyles and modern geopolitics live in close quarters in this Central Asian nation tucked in the mountains between China, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Despite its difficulty of accessibility, Kyrgyzstan has long been at the crossroads of cultures—as a trade route along the network of Silk Roads connecting China with South Asia, Europe, and the Middle East; as part of the Soviet empire, and today as a region coveted by political powers around the globe. Crafts, made from organic materials as well as metal, show the strength and beauty of the Kyrgyz way of life that endures as nomads move from place to place, and as they hand down traditions from generation to generations.
Cham: Syncretic Islamic Communities in Vietnam and Cambodia
The Cham people of Vietnam and Cambodia have both adapted and persevered through the centuries. Descended from the Kingdom of Champa that ruled much of southern Vietnam, as the kingdom disintegrated beginning in the 15th century, most Cham converted from Hinduism to various forms of Islam. Eventually spreading through Cambodia as well, the Cham continue to preserve their shared and local identities through ritual and religious practices, art and architecture, writing and language, and everyday life experiences.
Cosmic Creatures: Textiles from Northeast Lao Communities
Textiles from this small, landlocked country in Southeast Asia capture elusive and magical shape-shifters in their designs. Created by women using traditional dying and weaving techniques, these show powerful totems—the cosmic serpent mother, the serpent, hong bird, the frog goddess atop the hong boat, and the elephant—that are used in rituals binding small communities to a larger network of chiefdoms, and the living to their ancestors.