Cherry Blossoms with the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art

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Chesapeake Forum

Yuan Liu, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist, photographer and an expert guide to the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art's Cherry Blossom Exhibit.

Join Chesapeake Forum on a virtual visit to the Freer-Sackler Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) for the renowned Cherry Blossom tour Tuesday April, 12 from 2 - 2:30 pm. The tour will be held on Zoom with a recording offered. There is no charge for the class.

The revered sakura, or cherry blossom, has been celebrated in landscapes, figure paintings, and prints by artists from medieval Japan to Katsushika Hokusai and beyond. Long after the cherry blossoms fall in Washington, DC, you are invited to embrace hanami, the traditional Japanese custom of “flower viewing,” by going cherry blossom viewing in the museum’s Japanese art collections!

The National Cherry Blossom Festival annually commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and to celebrate the continued close relationship between the two nations. Years later, the Festival has continued to grow with visitors from around the world arriving in Washington each year to admire the blossoming cherry trees and participate in the Festival, which heralds the beginning of Spring in the nation’s capital.

Dr. Yuan Liu, a volunteer docent at the NMAA since 2014, and a neuroscientist, writer, photographer and public lecturer, will be leading the tour. Since 2020, Dr. Liu has led 75 online museum tours and 20 cultural-related webinars, serving thousands of listeners. She published many scientific research papers as well as articles focusing on Asian art.

To register for Cherry Blossoms with Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Arts, Tuesday April 12 from 2-30 pm, visit chesapeakeforum.org. Check out the website to find other classes you might enjoy, too. If you would like to receive the Chesapeake Forum’s monthly newsletter, please email to info@chesapeakeforum.org with your name and preferred email.