Asia Society New York

09/02/2026

We're thrilled that "Busy, Busy Towns: Moving Images of a Changing Asia" is featured in Hyperallergic's Fall 2026 Art Guide! 💙

On view through January 3, 2027, "Busy, Busy Towns" showcases selected video works from the Asia Society Museum collection, exploring how rapidly evolving cultural, political, and ecological forces have shaped urban landscapes across Asia.

Swipe through for stills from the featured works 👉

Plan your visit to Asia Society Museum: https://asiasociety.org/new-york/plan-your-visit

09/01/2026

This week at Asia Society, join us for a discussion on Asia’s digital alignment through trade and Chinese Artists on the Edge, a film retrospective guest curated by Sam C. Mac.

Tuesday at 8 AM ET, Elina Noor and Nigel Cory discuss how trade agreements are defining access to AI inputs throughout Asia with Asia Society Policy Institute's Faye Simanjuntak. Register to attend the webinar: https://asiasociety.org/policy-institute/events/asias-digital-alignment-through-trade

Starting on Friday, September 5, Chinese Artists on the Edge brings together five landmark films that reveal the fertile exchange between contemporary art and Chinese cinema. Featuring introductions and Q&As with guest curator Sam C. Mac and directors Zhu Rikun and Ding Jiancheng. https://asiasociety.org/new-york/chinese-artists-edge

The series starts on September 5 with “Reverie on Old Shanghai,” the cinematic expression of the nostalgic visual language that made Chen Yifei one of the defining artists of China's reform era. https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/reverie-old-shanghai-haishangjiumeng

Zhang Yuan’s “Beijing Bastards” immerses viewers in the city’s emerging rock music scene, and features two defining figures of Chinese rock music—Cui Jian and Dou Wei. Preceded by a screening of “White Lines,” Zhang’s student film starring art world luminaries Yu Hong and Liu Xiaodong. https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/beijing-bastards-beijingzazhong

Long circulated only through underground screenings before its restoration by the Chinese Independent Film Archive, Li Wake‘s “The Crack” stands as one of the most significant rediscoveries of Chinese independent cinema. Showing September 6: https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/crack-feng

“The Paper” is one of the most visually distinctive Chinese films of its era. The film treats paper as both subject and method, drifting between literature and cinema, dream and reality, color and monochrome. Followed by a Q&A with director Ding Jiancheng. https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/paper-zhi

Learn more about all of Asia Society’s upcoming events: AsiaSociety.org/NYEvents

Join ASPI for a virtual panel discussion on what the patchwork of digital trade agreements means for AI governance in the Indo-Pacific.

08/30/2026

This week at Asia Society, join Asia Society Policy Institute on Sept. 1 for a webinar launching a new tracker exploring how trade agreements are defining access to inputs. Experts will discuss the tracker’s key insights and the strategic logic driving the region’s digital alignment. Featuring Elina Noor and Nigel Cory, moderated by Faye Simanjuntak. https://asiasociety.org/policy-institute/events/asias-digital-alignment-through-trade

Join ASPI for a virtual panel discussion on what the patchwork of digital trade agreements means for AI governance in the Indo-Pacific.

08/29/2026

In a new ChinaFile piece, Editorial Fellow Jeremy Goldkorn shares his impressions of China from his first visit back since the pandemic.

"The system is now vastly more complex. Aside from the ubiquitous cameras, it is not possible to move around a city on any form of transport or pay for anything without the apps, and they always know who and where you are."

Read his piece "App Life in China":

“It’s really tough doing anything in China right now,” my friend told me. He’s a serial entrepreneur in Shanghai with a locked-in grin. We were waiting for our food in a Taiwanese restaurant in a lovingly-renovated toy factory in Shanghai. China was my home for 20 years, before moving to the...

08/27/2026

Our fall calendar is here, and it's packed! 🍁🍂

Join us at Asia Society New York this fall for a fantastic lineup of Grammy Award-winning artists, heads of state and government officials, acclaimed actors, authors, artists, comedians, and more.

Don't miss appearances by Bijayini Satpathy, DJ Spooky, Chandrika Tandon, and David Henry Hwang, plus programming around the UN General Assembly, themed Leo Bar happy hours, cultural celebrations, and so much more!

Learn more and reserve your spot: https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events

08/25/2026

What's the story behind the peaches and bats on this dish? 🍑🦇

Xiaohan Du, John H. Foster Assistant Curator of Pre-Modern Asian Art, explains the background and historical context for one of the dishes in our collection.

Visit “Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Celebrating 70 Years of Asia Society and the Rockefeller Legacy” to see this dish and many other exceptional ceramic pieces through January 3rd.

Explore the rest of the collection online: https://museum.asiasociety.org/collection/highlights

08/24/2026

WATCH: Asia Society Policy Institute's webinar assessing the early performance of the new leadership in Bangladesh and Nepal. Panelists Anil Giri, Raheed Ejaz, Rishi Gupta, and Farwa Aamer examine domestic progress and the two governments' foreign policy approaches.

August 20, 2026 — The start of 2026 marked a pivotal moment for Sou...

08/21/2026

Save the date! Jaipur Literature Festival New York returns on September 30 to Asia Society with conversations with Mahmood Mamdani, Kai Bird (American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer and American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump), and many more acclaimed authors, scholars, and journalists. Full lineup to be announced:

Celebrating books, ideas, and dialogue, the Jaipur Literature Festival — described as “the greatest literary show on Earth” returns to New York. 2026's exciting speaker line up includes Mahmood Mamdani, Sam Dalrymple, Kai Bird and more!

08/21/2026

Leo Bar Happy Hour returns on September 17! Join us to celebrate the AAPI community's role in shaping the story of America, as we mark the 250th birthday of the U.S. In collaboration with the Asian American Educators Alliance and Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY).

Enjoy a night of drinks and meet AAPI advocates at Leo Bar. Enjoy free Museum admission and guided tours, drink specials, and more in Asia Society's gorgeous Garden Court.