Taj Campton Place and Asian Art Museum
ISSUE: Spring 2012
DEPT: DestinAsian
STORY: Anna M. Park
If you can’t get to India, do the next best thing. The historic Taj Campton Place in San Francisco’s bustling Union Square is offering guests the chance to experience the life of India’s great Maharajas with the modern hospitality of a Taj hotel. The Royal Retreat package includes a deluxe room, daily breakfast for two, and VIP passes to the Asian Art Museum exhibit “Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts.” The Maharajas of India were some of the wealthiest rulers in the world and their “toys” prove it. From gold thrones and silver carriages, to Man Ray photographs and jewels galore, the Indian royals lived in luxury from the 1700s to the 1940s.
Once you’ve satiated the senses with earthly treasures, return to the Taj to feast on delicacies from Indian chef Sri Gopinathan, who helms the one-star Michelin ranked Campton Place restaurant. Details Through April 8, 415-781-5555, <a href=”http://camptonplace.com”>camptonplace.com</a>.
The halls have been de-decked, the nog noshed, and auld lang syne sung. If you find yourself needing more, however, we’ve got plenty of stimuli for the soul, from some elegant pounding on the black and whites to some good ol’ fashioned pounding with a mallet.
Photo by Kaz Tsuruta.
Mochitsuki! Japanese Mochi Pounding Party
When: Saturday, January 8, 2011
Where: Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco,
How: Free with museum admission (children 12 and under always admitted free)
Info: 415-581-3500, or click here.
Kick off the New Year right. Pound on some mochi (sticky rick dumpling) in a traditional mochitsuki at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. After taking turns pounding the glutinous rice in an usu (large mortar) with a kine (wooden mallet), decorate your chewy rice cake with a New Year’s greeting to take home to friends or family. Meanwhile, enjoy the music and dance of Kagami Kai, a San Francisco-based group started nearly 20 years ago by Tetsu Takatani, dedicated to maintaining the Japanese tradition of mochi pounding. Afterwords, listen to Japanese New Year stories, draw written fortunes, make a rabbit netsuke (tiny sculpture that serves as a fastener for a carrying couch), shop in the museum store, refresh at Cafe Asia, stroll the museum’s collection galleries, and view the special exhibition Beyond Golden Clouds (closing January 16).
2011 Miss LA Chinatown Fashion Show
When: January 8, 2011 from 11:30-2pm
Liuli Gongfang Gallery Opening
When: Friday, January 14, 2011
Where: Brea Mall, Brea, Calif.
Liuli Gongfang, a world renowned name in glass art sculptures and jewelry, will celebrate its Southern California gallery grand opening at the Brea Mall. Often described as the Steuben of China, Liuli Gongfang works are collected worldwide. The Chinese glass studio was founded by Loretta Hui-shan Yang, celebrated as one of Taiwan’s greatest film stars, and Chang Yi, one its most luminary cinematic directors. The Southern California gallery is the glass studio’s second in the U.S.
Macho Like Me
When: January 14 – February 13, 2011
Where: The Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA
How: macholikeme.tix.com
Author, filmmaker and performer Helie Lee will be performing Macho Like Me, the provocative one-woman performance piece about Lee’s six-month journey living life as man. Cutting off her hair, donning men’s clothes and moving out of her home to begin life anew as Harry, Lee sets out to prove a point: that men have it so much better than women. But Lee’s assumptions are quickly dashed, resulting in a new world-view that ends up surprising many, especially herself. Now adapted into a full-length documentary, Macho Like Me weaves Lee’s monologue with interactive documentary footage, exploring the dynamics of how society treats men and women differently. Lee is the author of the bestseller Still Life With Rice (Scribner 1996), and In The Absence of Sun (Harmony Books 2002), memoirs in which she chronicles her family’s experience in war-torn Korea from the 1930s to 1997.
Watch the Macho Like Me Trailer from Helie Lee on Vimeo.
The Green Hornet
When: Friday, January 14, 2011
Where: A theater near you
How: An action comedy film with Seth Rogan and Jay Chou based off of the TV series in the 1960s. The Green Hornet, Britt Reid, played by Seth Rogan is the son of a well known media magnate and has to take over the company when his father dies. Reid becomes friends with his father’s most trusted employee, Kato, played by Jay Chou. They decide to change the direction of where their life was leading, and change it to fight crime. Reid and Kato pretend to be criminals in order to get closer to the real criminals and take them down.
Pianist Harumi Hanafusa Recital at Carnegie Hall
When: Saturday, January 15, 2011, 8:30PM
Where: Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street), New York, NY
How: $40/$20 Students + Seniors, CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800, Carnegiehall.org
The celebrated Japanese pianist, Harumi Hanafusa, will make her long-awaited American debut at Carnegie Hall for a one-night only concert featuring the world premiere of a major new work for piano by the leading Japanese composer, Toshi Ichiyanagi (Yoko Ono’s first husband!). Hanafusa, widely recognized as one of the best performers of French music, will also be performing works by French composers, including Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit and La Valse, and Debussy’s Images I and II.
Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company at The 10th Avenue Theatre
Mo'olelo's presents Stick Fly in February.
When: Starting January 17, 2011
Where: The 10th Avenue Theatre, San Diego, CA
How: www.moolelo.net, 619-342-7395
The socially conscious performing arts company Mo`olelo (its name means “story” in Hawaiian) will begin its 2011 season at its new residence at The 10th Avenue Theatre in downtown San Diego with the wonderfully named Seven Days of Awesome, a week of comedic dance and acrobatic skills featuring the amazing Platt Brothers along with special guests from the world of magic, dance and comedy, from January 17 to January 23. Other shows for the 2011 year include Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Speak to the First Lady, Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond, and The High School ImprovFest.
The theater organization is dedicated to broadening the scope of San Diego’s cultural environment by telling powerful stories that are as diverse as the islands of Hawaii, by paying equity wages to local actors and developing environmentally-friendly theatre practices. A recipient of the Patté, San Diego Theatre Critics Circle, McDonald Playwriting and the Anti-Discrimination Awards, Mo’olelo’s mission is to create new works based on research within various communities, produce lesser-known works by master and contemporary playwrights, and educate youth. For the theater company’s complete schedule, visit www.10thavenuetheatre.com.
We’re full swing into APA Heritage Month, and there are celebrations in every major city in the U.S.
San Francisco is no exception; they’re holding their 6th annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration tomorrow, Saturday, May 15. So if you’re in the area, go check it out.
Little celebrants in traditional Asian costumes.
Organized by the nonprofit AsianWeek Foundation in cooperation with over 150 organizations in the local and Asian American community, the AHSC is the largest outdoor gathering of Asians in America! The festival features the usual fair fare: arts and crafts vendors, cultural displays, live performances, carnival rides, and plenty of yummy Asian eats.
The Asian Heritage Street Fair.
But here’s what else they’ve got you may not have expected: a J-Pop import car show, a kick-ass muay Thai kickboxing ring, a best dance crew contest, a mah jong area, and a balut eating contest!
Contenders to be the best AHSC dance crew.
Kickboxing exhibitions.
And this year, hip hop group Far East Movement will be performing live at the Celebration. (They’re opening for Lady Gaga on her world tour — check out our feature story on them in our Summer 2010 issue, out in early June!)
An ethnic costumes pageant shows off the beauty and diversity of Asian culture.
Members representing the Laotian American community.
The Celebration runs from the Civic Center in front of the Asian Art Museum, on Larkin and McAllister Streets, and leads up to the Little Saigon District. Scheduled programming begins at 11 and runs till 6, so get there early!
All proceeds from the Celebration are donated to local and national charities. For more info and a complete schedule of events (they’ve packed ‘em tight!), check out www.asianfairsf.com.
Food, arts and crafts galore!
Hone up on some Asian American children's books at the Celebration.
Photo by * etoile.
I’m sensing a trend here. Cities all over the country and the world participate in some kind of sister city program. Los Angeles is sister city to several other global towns, among them Mumbai in India, Guangzhou in China and even Makati in the Philippines. But some cities are taking it even a step further.
New York City’s Carnegie Hall is already sending out huge press kits about its upcoming JapanNYC program, a citywide celebration with a Southern Cali counterpart scheduled to kick off late this year. Massachusetts-based Peabody Essex Museum is also gearing up for its April “Sensational India!” fest, featuring filmmaker James Ivory. The San Francisco Bay Area, meanwhile, is celebrating all things Shanghainese with a citywide “Shanghai Celebration,” a festival of sorts with films, concerts, art and all kinds of other special events all about Shanghai.
"Shadow in the Water" (detail), 2002-2008. By Liu Jianhua (b. 1962). Installation with porcelain and light. Collection of the artist. Asian Art Museum's Shanghai exhibit.
The cornerstone of this celebration is the Asian Art Museum‘s grand Shanghai exhibit. With more than 130 paintings, revolutionary posters, fashion and even movie clips from U.S.- and Shanghai-based museums, the exhibit attempts to cover the rich history of that most cosmopolitan of cities.
"Nanjing Road," 1947. By Ni Yide (1901-1970). Oil on canvas. Private Collection. Asian Art Museum's Shanghai exhibit.
"A Prosperous City That Never Sleeps," 1930s. By Yuan Xiutang (dates unknown). Chromolithograph on paper. Collection of the Shanghai History Museum. Asian Art Museum's Shanghai exhibit.
The Asian Art Museum’s Shanghai exhibit runs now through September 5, 2010.
DETAILS: Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco.
