NEW YORK, June 17 (Xinhua) — The Asian Art Museum in U.S. San Francisco is looking to deepen international collaboration and contribute to global cultural exchanges.
The museum is well positioned to engage in global conversations on identity, heritage, and artistic innovation, said its director and CEO Soyoung Lee at a media roundtable in New York on Monday.
“Asia is not just a region, it’s half the world and all of time,” she said.
Upcoming exhibitions will focus on shared cultural themes such as ritual, trade, and material traditions, highlighting how Asian societies are historically and culturally connected.
“Instead of presenting art strictly by modern nation states, we are exploring ways to show how different Asian cultures are connected,” Lee said.
The museum is also addressing local and institutional challenges, including declining international tourism and generational identity gaps. To respond, it has expanded free admission days, education programs, and community partnerships across San Francisco.
Lee noted that many second- and third-generation Asian Americans may not speak their heritage languages or feel strong cultural ties. The museum, she said, aims to offer multiple points of access for visitors to explore identity on their own terms. “People are looking for connection and belonging,” she said. “The museum should be a space for that.”
Museums are also reassessing how success is measured, with growing emphasis on long-term engagement and community impact over attendance figures. “Museums must be rooted in scholarship,” Lee said, “but also responsive to the questions of today.”
