Renewing America's Promise

Celebrate Asia in America

Celebrate asia in America!
Renewing America's Promise—Inauguration 2009 at the Freer and Sackler Galleries
Smithsonian Institution

The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery present artists' workshops for children and their families as well as performances and stories of Asian and Asian American celebration traditions. The Freer Gallery is also home to a comprehensive collection of paintings by American artist James McNeill Whistler. Step into the Freer's crown jewel, Whistler's Peacock Room, named an icon of American art the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Free admission to all events.

Times for all events and performances are subject to change. Please check at the information desks for updated event times.

Tours of the collections are offered throughout the weekend, subject to docent availability. Please check at the information desks.

Sunday, January 18

11:00am
Leyland's Butler: The Story of Whistler's Peacock Room
Performance tour by Jonathan Watkins
Freer, Peacock Room
The Peacock Room was once the dining room in the London home of wealthy shipowner Frederick R. Leyland. Join Leyland's butler (actor Jonathan Watkins) as he tells the intriguing story of Leyland, artist James McNeill Whistler, and the Peacock Room.

12:00 pm
Sharing the Light: Asian Tales of Wisdom
Storytelling performance by Eth-Noh-Tec
Sackler, sublevel 1
Recognized as storytellers around the world, Eth-Noh-Tec (ENC) layers Asian mythologies, folktales, and Asian urban legends with Asian American sensibilities. ENC was founded by Nancy Wang, a dancer, choreographer, and playwright, and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, a musician, composer, writer, and physical comedian. They perform hundreds of concerts each year and received the National Storytelling Network "Circle of Excellence" award in 2008.

2:00 pm
Seeds of Hope
Dance performance by Shizumi and Kodomo Dance Troupe
Sackler, sublevel 1
Performing artist Shizumi Manale distills two millennia of Japanese dance, music, and literature into her performances. Born in Japan, she has worked as a solo artist in the United States since 1983. In 2000 she founded the Shizumi and Kodomo Dance Troupe, which grew out of a commission for the White House Millennium Celebration. The troupe features young dancers ranging in age from four to seventeen years old from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

3:00 pm
Gift to the Nation: American Art and Charles Lang Freer's Aesthetic Vision
Tour by Josephine Rodgers, art historian
Freer, Information Desk
Join art historian Josephine Rodgers as she explores key elements of Charles Lang Freer's life and how they influenced his collections of Asian and American art, now housed in the Freer Gallery of Art.

4:00 pm
Joy of Siam
Dance performance by the Somapa Thai Dance Company
Sackler, sublevel 1
Founded in 1999, the Somapa Thai Dance Company is dedicated to preserving and promoting Thai culture and arts in North America. Key members of the troupe have more than twenty-five years of performing experience and were trained by National Artists of Thailand and instructors from the prestigious Department of Fine Arts in Bangkok. They present the Blessing Dance, a classical Thai dance performed on auspicious and festival occasions.

Monday, January 19

12:00 pm
Persia Meets Flamenco: The Roya Ensemble
Roya Bahrami, santur; Ricardo Marlow, flamenco guitar; Steve Bloom, percussion
Freer, Meyer Auditorium
Start the day with the seductive sounds of this innovative musical fusion, led by santur artist, vocalist, and composer Roya Bahrami. A native of Iran, she has studied Persian classical music with masters M.R. Lotfi and Hossein Alizadeh. Guitarist Ricardo Marlow, a regular on the D.C. flamenco scene and winner of the 2008 Maryland Individual Artist award, has performed with Danza del Rio, Paco de Malaga, and Arte Flamenco. The Washington Post wrote that master percussionist Steve Bloom "has never met a rhythm he couldn't master." He has appeared with such greats as Olatunji and Tito Puente and leads his own group, Havana Select.

1:00 pm
Gift to the Nation: American Art and Charles Lang Freer's Aesthetic Vision
Tour by Josephine Rodgers, art historian
Freer, Information Desk
Join art historian Josephine Rodgers as she explores key elements of Charles Lang Freer's life and how they influenced his collections of Asian and American art, now housed in the Freer Gallery of Art.

1:00 pm
Sticky Rice and the Chinese New Year
Storytelling by Linda Fang
Sackler, sublevel 1
Storyteller Linda Fang draws upon Chinese opera, folktales, anecdotes, and oral tradition as inspiration for her captivating tales. Her career as a storyteller began when she told her first story as a ten-year-old girl in China. Today she performs internationally and has been named storyteller of the year and Maryland's 2004 Solo Theatrical Performer.

2:00 pm
Sounds of the Chinese Zither
Music by Bing Xia and the Washington Guzheng Society
Freer, Meyer Auditorium
Enjoy the magical sounds of the Chinese guzheng--a twenty-one-string predecessor to the Japanese koto--with virtuoso soloist Bing Xia, who studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and is now artistic director of the Washington Guzheng Society. Sally Huang and Rujia Teng join her for ancient and contemporary music that evokes mountain views, flowing water, butterflies, fisherman, moonlight, and fragrant jasmine.

2:00-4:00 pm
Join the Band!
Asian music workshop with Bill Jenkins
Sackler, sublevel 2, ImaginAsia classroom 2
Learn how to play drums, gongs, and cymbals from throughout Asia with world music educator Bill Jenkins. Fine tune your rhythms and join our own Inaugural parade around the gallery. All ages are welcome.

2:30 pm
Sticky Rice and the Chinese New Year
Storytelling by Linda Fang
Sackler, sublevel 1
Storyteller Linda Fang draws upon Chinese opera, folktales, anecdotes, and oral tradition as inspiration for her captivating tales. Her career as a storyteller began when she told her first story as a ten-year-old girl in China. Today she performs internationally and has been named storyteller of the year and Maryland's 2004 Solo Theatrical Performer.

3:00-5:00 pm
I Dream, I Promise, I Wish: Make a Storybook to Celebrate You
ImaginAsia family workshop with Sushmita Mazumdar
Sackler, sublevel 2, ImaginAsia classroom 1
Discover Asian traditions associated with wishes and prayers with artist Sushmita Mazumdar. Then make a little storybook of your dreams, promises, and wishes. You can wear or display these special books so you can celebrate their words and thoughts throughout the year.

4:00 pm
Indian Bamboo Flutes
Music by John Wubbenhorst, bansuri; Samarat Kakkeri, tabla
Freer, Meyer Auditorium
Enjoy the soothing and invigorating sounds of Indian classical music, performed by flute virtuoso John Wubbenhorst, a longtime student of the great Hariprasad Chaurasia. He has appeared in concert with Hariprasad as well as Paul Horn, Jack DeJohnette, and Paul McCandless. His accompanist on tabla is Samarat Kakkeri, a child prodigy who has performed with Urmila Nagar, Gopal Rao, and Raghav Bhatt.

4:30 pm
Invocation to Ganesh: Removing Obstacles for a New Beginning
Dance by Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh and Company
Sackler, sublevel 1
Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company presents traditional Indian dance forms and modern dance as a way to mirror the multiple identities of second-generation South Asians. The company combines the arts with issues of social justice by incorporating the themes into dance. Artistic Director Daniel Phoenix Singh trained with Guru Meena Telikicherla. Today's program features Bharata Natyam and Mohini Attam dances.

Tuesday, January 20

1:30, 2:30, 4:00 pm
Leyland抯 Butler: The Story of the Peacock Room
Performance tour by Jonathan Watkins
Freer, Peacock Room
The Peacock Room was once the dining room in the London home of wealthy shipowner Frederick R. Leyland. Join Leyland抯 butler (actor Jonathan Watkins) as he tells the intriguing story of Leyland, artist James McNeill Whistler, and the Peacock Room.

2:00�00 pm
Join the Band!
Asian music workshop with Bill Jenkins
Sackler, sublevel 2, ImaginAsia classroom 2
Learn how to play drums, gongs, and cymbals from throughout Asia with world music educator Bill Jenkins. Fine tune your rhythms and join our own Inaugural parade around the gallery. All ages are welcome.

3:00�00 pm
I Dream, I Promise, I Wish: Make a Storybook to Celebrate You
ImaginAsia family workshop with Sushmita Mazumdar
Sackler, sublevel 2, ImaginAsia classroom 1
Discover Asian traditions associated with wishes and prayers with artist Sushmita Mazumdar. Then make a little storybook of your dreams, promises, and wishes. You can wear or display these special books so you can celebrate their words and thoughts throughout the year.