[photo credit: University of Southern California]
The festival, held annually for more than a decade at the museum’s Chinese Imperial Palace-inspired building at 46 N. Los Robles Ave., this year coincides with the public debut of “Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry,” a 12-room immersive exhibition that draws on approximately 100 objects from the museum’s collection spanning more than 5,000 years.
Festival-goers will have free access to both the cultural programming and the new galleries.
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Performers and partners include the Northern Shaolin Kung Fu Association, which will present a traditional lion dance and martial arts demonstration; the Korean Classical Music and Dance Company; USC Traditional Chinese Dance; USC Kazan Taiko; opera soprano Shirley Wang; and Barnsdall Arts, which will lead hands-on art activities. Storytelling is also on the schedule.
Food trucks will be on site for purchase, and visitors may bring their own food, though no food or beverages are permitted inside the galleries. All seating for performances is first-come, first-served, and art activities are available on a drop-in basis while supplies last.
The Lunar New Year, which officially begins February 17 this year, holds deep cultural significance across East and Southeast Asian countries, including China, Korea and Vietnam. The festival at USC PAM reflects that breadth, with performers drawn from Chinese, Korean and Japanese traditions.
“Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry,” on view through September 6, was curated by Dave Young Kim, a Los Angeles-based Korean American artist and muralist. The exhibition blends objects from USC PAM’s collection with new media technology and works by more than 20 contemporary artists to explore the immigrant experience through the visual language of mythology.
“There’s a very clear journey and narrative that the viewer is supposed to go through,” Kim said in an interview with the Pasadena Weekly. “They’re like scenes in a movie.”
The exhibition, which opened February 14, includes a wraparound video installation set in a reconstructed airplane cabin and an AI-powered video interaction that places visitors in the role of an immigrant. Kim said the work draws in part on his own family’s story. “A lot of it is inspired by the shops and restaurants in LA and the things I saw, the lived reality of mythical creatures in practice,” he said. “But also my own family story.”
“Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry embodies a transformational shift in our direction at USC Pacific Asia Museum,” Bethany Montagano, director of USC Museums, said in a statement released by the university. The exhibition, she said, centers “artists, rethinking interpretation, and building exhibitions from the emotional and intellectual lives of our audiences outward.”
The museum was established in 1971 and is one of few U.S. institutions dedicated to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. It became part of the University of Southern California in 2013 and houses a collection of more than 15,000 objects. The exhibition received major support from Pasadena-based East West Bank, which provided what the university described as the largest gift in the museum’s history.
On-site parking is not available during the festival. The museum recommends street parking, nearby paid lots such as Paseo Colorado, rideshare or Metro. The museum is ADA accessible, with wheelchairs available upon request. Timed tickets for gallery access are available in 30-minute intervals at the main entrance information table while supplies last.
The museum is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (626) 787-2680 or visit pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu.
“Imagine stepping inside an illustrated book of poetry written by a cherished loved one,” Kim said of the exhibition. “Mythical Creatures is guided by verses on the walls that reflect the wisdom of an imagined, beloved elder — tender, unfolding, and finally given voice.”
