Seattle Asian Art Museum

The Seattle Asian Art Museum (abbreviated SAAM) is an Asian art museum located in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The SAAM, which is part of the Seattle Art Museum, displays historic and contemporary works from China, Korea, Japan, India, the Himalayas, and other Southeast Asian countries. There is also an education center, a conservation center, and a library.The museum is housed in the 1933 Art Deco building that once housed the main collection of the Seattle Art Museum. The main collection was relocated to a newly constructed downtown Seattle Art Museum building in 1991. The Seattle Asian Art Museum first opened its doors in 1994.

About

The SAAM is thematically organised, with art and objects grouped according to their relationship to themes such as "spirituality, worship, celebration, visual arts, literature, clothing, nature, and the power of birth and death." The permanent collection of the museum is divided into thirteen galleries. One large gallery is reserved for special exhibitions, which rotate every six months. 

History

Richard E. Fuller, an Asian art collector, founded the Seattle Art Museum in 1933. In 1993, the main Seattle Art Museum announced that it would open an Asian art museum in its original Volunteer Park location, sixty years later. The leaders of East Asian nations and 400 guests attended an APEC Summit reception in November 1993.  The SAAM opened to the public on August 13, 1994, with a ceremony attended by 6,000 people. The Asian Paintings Conservation Center is housed in the museum.

Collection

The permanent collection of the Seattle Asian Art Museum includes Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian art.

The museum's collection is "centred on historic, modern, and contemporary Asian Pacific Islander as well as Southeast Asian art, specifically collecting various works created by local Asian Pacific Islander artists in the Seattle area." Some/One, a suit of armour made of thousands of military IDs, or dog tags, by South Korean sculptor Do-Ho Suh, is housed in the collection. Yoon Kwang-cho, a South Korean ceramic artist, is also represented in the collection.

TICKETS

Save money by purchasing tickets in advance! If you wait until the day of your visit to buy your tickets, the price rises by $3. Plan ahead of time and buy your tickets online to get the best deal! On a rolling basis, tickets are released online on the first Thursday of each month.

Throughout the year, SAM hosts a dynamic and rotating roster of exhibitions. Admission includes access to all current exhibitions at the museum, which includes over 15 exhibitions and installations of art from SAM's global collection or loaned works at any given time.

SAM MEMBERS' ADVANCE DAY

FREE FREE\sADULTS

SENIORS (65+) $29.99 $32.99

MILITARY (WITH ID) $24.99 $27.99 STUDENTS (WITH ID)

$19.99 $22.99 TEENS (15–19)

$19.99 $22.99 CHILDREN (14 AND UP) ARE FREE

HOURS\sMONDAY\sCLOSED

WEDNESDAY 10 AM - 5 PM TUESDAY CLOSED

THURSDAY, 10 A.M. TO 5 P.M.

Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SATURDAY, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

SUNDAY, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.