The Asian Art Council (AAC) is a support organization for the Department of Asian and Ancient Art of the Art Institute of Chicago, which houses one of the major U.S. collections of Asian art from Japan, China, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and the Islamic world.

The AAC acts as a forum for education and discussion about Asian art—from ancient to modern—through lectures, demonstrations, gallery walks, and visits to private collections. The AAC biannual newsletter provides information about events and Asian art across the country. Through dues and fund raising functions, the AAC provides financial support to the department for acquisitions of Asian art objects. Additionally, members are able to give their voices to the selection of these objects at the Annual Meeting.

Events hosted by the AAC have included lectures on such topics as Indian Art in the Era of Globalization, Great Shrines of Iran, American Collectors of Asian Art, Kangxi Porcelain; demonstrations of the Japanese arts of bamboo basket making and ikebana; visits to private collections of Asian objects such as Southeast Asian ceramics and bronzes, Chinese jades, and Japanese paintings; and travel with Art Institute curators to museums and collections in other cities.

Read Our Biannual Newsletter

Fall 2009
(You will need Adobe Acrobat to view this document.)

Membership

The Asian Art Council invites you to become a member. You must be a member of the Art Institute to join. Download the new membership form.

Membership levels:

• Student $10
• Individual $100
• Family $150
• Lapis Circle $300
• Lacquer Circle $500*
• Jade Circle $1000*

*These levels provide access to an additional, curator-designated event.

Asian Art Council Board of Directors 2009

President
Michael Hobor

Vice Presidents
Ethel Gofen
Betty Seid
Katharine Tsiang

Secretary
Marion Wood Covey

Treasurer
James M. Trapp

Honorary Chairpersons
Marilynn Alsdorf
H. George Mann
Thomas and Margot Pritzker

Directors
Marilynn Alsdorf
Jack Beem
Marion Wood Covey
Nancie Dunn
Dr. Patricia Brett Erens
Barbara Friedell
Ethel Gofen
Harlow Higinbotham
Michael Hobor
Thomas E. Keim
Dr. Edmund Lewis
Diane Levy
H. George Mann
Dr. Katherine Tsiang Mino
Betsy Nathan
Thomas and Margot Pritzker
Betty Seid
Allen R. Smart
James M. Trapp
Theodore Van Zelst
Pooja Vukosavich
Ralph Wanger
Roger Weston

Asian Art Council Coordinator
Susan Packard

The Asian Art Council
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60603
Telephone: (312) 443-7282
Fax: (312) 443-9281
aac@artic.edu

_{Huqqa Base with Floral Design, c. 19th century. Deccan region, India. Gift offered by the Asian Art Council of the Art Institute of Chicago to the Art Institute of Chicago.}