Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

The month of May marks the national celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. At VMFA, throughout the year and especially in May, we honor the artistic contributions of individuals and cultures rooted in or tied ethnically to East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. In tribute, we offer here a variety of content for you to explore, including art from our collections and exhibitions, events and programs, and videos.


On View

Click to explore VMFA's Asian American and Pacific Islander Artists art Collection

PERMANENT COLLECTION | Asian American and Pacific Islander Artists

VMFA’s permanent collection includes works by Asian American and Pacific Islander artists who have lived or worked in America. The collection includes artworks from 20th-century America as well as leading contemporary artists. These artists represent a combined legacy of Asian heritage and American experience resulting in the creation of complex and layered works of art.

Click to learn more about Eight Views of Omi: Japanese Woodblock Prints by Ito Shinsui

EXHIBITION | Eight Views of Omi: Japanese Woodblock Prints by Ito Shinsui

This installation displays the complete set of Shinsui’s Eight Views of Omi, alongside some of his other works, which were donated to VMFA by Patrons René and Carolyn Balcer. The Balcers are the generous donors of VMFA’s hundreds of prints by Kawase Hasui, another leading artist of shin-hanga in the first half of the 20th century.

More to Explore

Click to watch Miwako Nishizawa at VMFA

Miwako Nishizawa at VMFA

Japanese American artist Miwako Nishizawa discusses Japanese woodblock printing, her inspirations, and her work with various Virginia landscapes presented in her series Twelve Views of Virginia, 2014.

Click to watch Tsherin Sherpa | The Artist

Tsherin Sherpa | The Artist

Tsherin Sherpa visits Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits at VMFA in 2022 along with Dr. John Henry Rice, VMFA’s E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art.

Click to watch 3 in 30: Wrathful Himalayan Deities

3 in 30: Wrathful Himalayan Deities

Explore the permanent collection of Himalayan art with Dr. John Henry Rice, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art, to discover some of Tibetan Buddhism’s most intense and powerful deities. This program is inspired by the 2022 special exhibition Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits, in which the Nepalese-born Tibetan American contemporary artist imagines Himalayan deities transformed and transported to modern settings.

Click to watch Curator’s Opening Talk | A Conversation with Tsherin Sherpa

Curator’s Opening Talk | A Conversation with Tsherin Sherpa

On Thursday, February 17, 2022, Dr. John Henry Rice, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art, spoke with artist Tsherin Sherpa. Learn more about Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits here. This video recording was made possible by The National Endowment for the Humanities.


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