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| Recent Development News Pacific Asia Museum Membership
Associates Dinner
Senior Curator Rochelle Kessler provided an informative and engaging talk on Mother, Warrior: the Great Goddess in Indian Art, describing the museum’s recent acquisition provided through Collectors’ Circle funds. The festive atmosphere carried on into the galleries where a delicious seated dinner catered by Renaissance Fine Catering was served with custom-selected wines provided by Mitsuko and Dave Felton. Anne Blomstrom provided floral arrangements in the Ikenobu style. The use of electric tea light candles set on mirrored plates cast a warm glow at the dinner tables, fostering a warm sense of reconnection to Pacific Asia Museum during a period of major renovations and restorations. F
or further details on how you can become
an Associate and help support the museum’s
educational and cultural outreach programs, Message from the Campaign Co-Chairs Unlike many such endeavors, the Campaign is not for new construction but for securing the museum’s historic building and collections, and for expanding its reach in the community through engaging programs and exhibitions. “Excellence requires resources,” said Board Chair and Campaign Co-Chair George Brumder. “The Board of Trustees is committed to securing the creative mission of the museum and to providing an enduring legacy for future generations through the Campaign.” The Campaign’s progress to date has been made possible through a group of key supporters. Gifts ranging from $1,000 to $300,000 have been received with major contributions coming from local and national foundations, the museum’s trustees and overseers, and many of the museum’s closest friends and supporters. Opened in 1971, Pacific Asia Museum became a reality in large part because of a broad-based community effort and the encouragement and support of its early founders and benefactors. These supporters recognized the need for a museum exclusively dedicated to the arts of Asia and the Pacific Islands and to the preservation of Grace Nicholson’s role as a noted art collector, dealer and trend setter for the arts both in Southern California and nationwide. The museum owes its existence to the hard work and dedication of so many people in the community who believe in the museum’s mission and see a bright future for the arts in our city. We invite you to join the growing list of donors who have already pledged their support to the Campaign for the Future. Campaign Goals: Enhancing Exhibitions and Education Programs Over the next several years, the permanent collections will be reinstalled in innovative and engaging ways that place the objects in their cultural, historical and aesthetic context. The first of the newly conceived galleries—the Gallery of Japanese Art— opened to the public on September 8, 2006. The presentation of the Japanese collection through rotating exhibitions now serves as the model for the reinstallation of the permanent collections throughout the galleries. The museum will also create new educational galleries.
Improving the Care and Use of the Collections The museum will renovate and equip 3,200 square feet of its lowerlevel storage area, allowing the collection to be safely housed in an environmentally controlled area. These changes will increase storage capacity by 50% and give staff improved access to the collections for various needs, including exhibition development, loans, object conservation and photographing objects for the museum’s electronic catalogue database and on-line exhibitions. In the galleries, new fixtures will allow light levels to be controlled according to current professional standards. The security system will also be significantly improved, and a new fire alarm system will be directly connected to the fire department.
Further Engaging the Community
These efforts will also help to broaden the museum’s base of support, ensuring the financial viability of the institution well into the future.
Donor Profile: Patricia Ayers Gallucci
At the end of World War II, her father, a key member of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff, began the critical work of rebuilding Japan. The family joined her father in Tokyo in 1949. Patricia took this opportunity to study Japanese art with the Curator of the Imperial Household Museum, and took private lessons from a renowned Japanese artist. During the family’s stay in Japan, Patricia began collecting many fine Japanese woodblock prints, Chinese jades, and Qianlong porcelains. Pacific Asia Museum wishes to thank Patricia and her husband Michael for their countless contributions over the years. Patricia has chaired the museum’s Exhibitions and Collections Committees and continues to be an active member of the Asso-ciates and the Collectors’ Circle. Courtyard Garden Project The Courtyard was considered an integral element to the building when it was constructed by Grace Nicholson who regularly organized open-air events in the garden and sales of antiques from around the world. However, the museum’s recent need to waterproof the north foundation wall provided an opportunity to rethink the garden. The museum is especially thankful for the advice of landscape designer Thomas B. Cox who made significant contributions to the hardscaping and lighting design, and also to architect Bob Ray Offenhauser, and June Li, Curator of the Chinese Garden and Jim Folsom, Director of the Botanical Gardens, both of The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. While the renovations and landscaping continue, the results are already revealing the tranquility of the garden and the wonderful beauty of the building’s architecture. In the garden, you will find the traditional Three Friends – bamboo representing resilience, pine signifying heartiness and the plum tree symbolizing rectitude. Seasonal flowering plants will also be introduced into the garden and may include camellias, chrysanthemums, narcissus, orchids, and peonies. As we celebrate springtime in Pasadena, the Chinese Courtyard Garden has become “the jewel in the lotus” for all to contemplate and use. If you would like to make a contribution to the Garden Project, please call David Spiro, Director of Development at 626-449-2742, ext. 28, or use the enclosed envelope.
Be a Docent at Pacific Asia Museum Docent training involves a serious commitment to learning about the arts of Asia. No special skills are required; any that are needed will be taught to the newcomer on site. The Docent Council is now actively recruiting a new class of docents to begin training for the rewarding work of being a Pacific Asia Museum Docent. In addition to a thorough training and course of study, a two-year commitment is required. Orientation is scheduled for May 29, and the training lecture series begins September 18. Applications are available here (PDF: 63K, 2 pages) or by calling 626-449-2742, ext. 23. Invitation to Join an Arts Council For example, Japanese Arts Council is now assisting the curatorial staff with the Festival of Japanese Art & Style, and has been involved in planning the month-long series of events. Membership in one of the museum’s Arts Councils is just $25. You must also be a member of Pacific Asia Museum to join an Arts Council. There are eight active councils: Chinese, Japanese, Pakistan, Himalayan, Korean, Philippine, Myanmar, and Thai. Call the membership office today at ext. 37 to learn more about becoming a member of one of these essential Arts Councils!  
Pacific Asia Museum Membership
Recent Development News (January 2007)
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