Seattle Asian Art Museum Hours

Not Your Typical Museum:

Seattle Japanese Garden1075 Lake Washington Boulevard East, Seattle

The Japanese Garden is a 3.5-acre urban oasis within the Lake Washington Arboretum. It is typically open beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The usual admission charge is $8 for adults, $4 for seniors and kids 6-17 free for kids 5 and under. Admission will be free the first Thursday of each month.

A new exhibit, Garden Images, by Seattle artist Stephen Okawa, will be on display in the Tateuchi Community Room. Inspired by Okawas love of nature, Japanese art and gardens, the exhibit was created in 2020 in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Garden. The series is printed on handmade paper from Nepal and mounted as triptychs on birch boxes.

719 S King StOpen: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The galleries of this museum of the Asian-Pacific American experience has a wonderful permanent display called Honoring our Journey, which is packed with stories and artifacts. Theres also a variety of temporary exhibits. The museum also offers neighborhood tours and other programs.

15th Ave NE & NE 41st St.University of Washington

This gallery on the UW Campus is devoted to contemporary art in all its surprising variety. It is currently open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday only, and admission is free through Oct. 1, 2021. Last admission 4:30 p.m. tickets by walk-up only no online ticketing.

510 Bellevue Way NEHours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday

Visiting Seattle Art Museum

Location: 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101. The museum is easily accessed via King County Metro bus service from stops along 3rd Avenue at University or Seneca.

Parking is available in the Russell Investment Center garage or the 3rd and Stewart garage. Make sure to ask for a voucher for a discounted rate from the art museum.

Hours: Wed-Sun, 10AM 5PM. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Closed Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

Admission: $19.99/adult.

Discount tickets:

• Purchase tickets online in advance and save. Prices increases day of visit. Tickets are released online on a monthly rolling basis.
• PWYC: Suggested admission means visitors may choose to pay anything from a penny up to general admission price when they purchase tickets. Suggested admission tickets do not include entry to special exhibitions which have fixed pricing.
• Membership provides FREE entry after the membership fee is paid.
• Students, teens, seniors, and military with ID can get a discount.
• Children 14 and younger are FREE.
• FREE admission on the first Thursday of every month.
• Seniors are FREE the first Friday of every month.

11:00 am to 5:00 pm | FREE | Gallery North, 401 Main Street, Edmonds, WA 98020

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What Art Is In The Seattle Art Museum Collection

We think SAMs greatest strength is the diversity of its collection. As you move from room to room, youll discover American landscapes, Islamic art, Native wood carvings, Egyptian artifacts, traditional Asian art, European porcelain, modern sculpture, and everything in between. Some of the big names are here, too, with works by Monet, Warhol, Pollock, OKeeffe, Matisse, Rubens, and others.

Check the museum calendar for special exhibitions, which have previously included Picasso, Wyeth, Kusama, and other traveling collections.

Green Waves Circa 1910 Japan

This painting is a ticket to another dimension. Painted with ink and gold on silk , artist Tsuji Kak has made a seascape that almost moves, and is as mysterious and enveloping as the mind. Its one of Wus favorites , and she says its high horizon line is part of the magic, subsuming us in its swells. Wu recommends looking at Green Waves from halfway across the room, then slowly approaching. Majestic seems too gaudy a word for the sublimity of Green Waves just call it awesome.

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Seattle Asian Art Museum reopens Saturday, Feb. 8 1400 E. Prospect St., Seattle opening weekend Feb. 8-9 sold out Feb. 12 onward: on-site tickets $0-$14.99 online tickets up to $14.99 206-654-3210, seattleartmuseum.org/visit/asian-art-museum

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Dragon Tamer Luohan 14th Century China

This enigmatic, high-voltage individual had a secret hidden in his back. Unlike, say, a Guanyin bodhisattva statue , he seems to be one of a kind. Nobody knew who he was. For years, SAM called him Monk at the Moment of Enlightenment because bald usually equals monk and SAMs founder, Dr. Richard Fuller, thought he had an enlightenment-ish expression. That did not satisfy Foongs scholastic sensibilities: When the museum closed down, I spent a lot of one-on-one time with him. She discovered a previously unnoticed inscription on a plug in his back with a faint Chinese character found in the word for dragon tamer. Foong fell into a research hole, studying his twisting torso and peculiar grip, concluding he was a luohan with a specialty in dragons, and helped prevent floods and droughts. Regardless, he looks like a monk who can ride the lightning.

Lotus And Ducks And Pine And Rock 1690s China

Bada Shanren was a strange man who made strange paintings, infusing innocuous subjects with uncanny psychological tension like this duck warily eyeing a lotus leaf, or the out-of-place rock that seems to be cowering beneath a threatening tree. Bada was a prince of the freshly fallen Ming dynasty, which was a dangerous thing to be. While other Ming notables were being murdered or committing suicide, Bada entered a monastery and started behaving oddly: going mute for long periods laughing, screaming or weeping randomly spinning in circles in the marketplace. People at the time werent sure whether he was mentally disordered or faking it to protect himself. We still dont know, Foong said, but his imagery is very, very unique. The weird drama of his subjects made his paintings famous and expensive. The credits at the bottom of the labels, listing the donors it took to buy the works, is nearly as long as the explanatory text.

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Asian Art Museum Cafe

The Asian Art Museum Café is a great place to enjoy a meal while surrounded by beautiful Asian art. The museum offers a variety of Asian-inspired dishes, as well as a selection of beer, wine, and sake. The café is a great place to relax and enjoy a meal with friends or family.

Cafe Asias menu features a variety of dishes made with fresh, seasonal ingredients from around the world. Melinda Quirino, the hotels executive chef, has designed the Asian menu as one of the house chefs at Hotel Nikko. Dont forget to order the Dongpo rou, pork belly served with a meat-shaped stone in honor of Emperors Treasures. Cafe Asia currently only sells Adzuki Almond Cookie, a sweet and savory ice cream that is modeled after the classic pastry bean flavor. Cafe Asia offers a variety of loose leaf teas, as well as a signature tea service. Dining on the patio gives diners the opportunity to see and experience the sights and sounds of the city.

Inside The Reinvented Seattle Asian Art Museum Set To Reopen After 3 Years

Some/One, the beloved 2001 sculpture by Korean artist Do Ho Suh, is one of those objects that keeps revealing itself the longer you look. At first it sparkles, snagging the eye like a fishhook but its shiny, scaly surface hides a deeper, sadder weight.

Made from tens of thousands of stainless-steel, military-style dog tags, Some/One is roughly person-shaped , a shining suit of armor with a regal, circular train that pools around it like a lake of mercury. That train is an impressive 24 feet, 4 inches in diameter and as far as curator Xiaojin Wu is concerned, Seattle Asian Art Museums recent renovation was for Some/One as much as anyone.

The sculpture used to stand at the downtown Seattle Art Museum but was taken off rotation seven years ago, just as Wu, SAMs curator of Japanese and Korean art, showed up on staff.

I find that work so compelling and almost overwhelming, she said. Its absolutely my favorite. She wanted to move it to Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park, but no dice the passenger elevator and front door were too small.

Luckily for her, SAAM closed its 1933 building for renovation in February 2017, citing a few needs: seismic upgrades an HVAC system that wouldnt ruin delicate fabric and paper and, crucially, a new gallery and freight elevator large enough to accommodate a certain sculpture.

Wu only had to wait seven years, but now Some/One stands in splendor at SAAM, which reopens Saturday, Feb. 8.

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Lotus Sutra 12th Century Japan Leaf From The Blue Quran Ninth Century Tunisia

These two gorgeous, handwritten texts are separated by centuries and continents, but share a powerful visual resonance: golden script twinkling against midnight-blue, indigo-dyed paper. And Foong thinks they may have been produced under similar circumstances: devotees copying sacred words by candlelight, chanting as they went. From a humanist point of view, they have similar ground, she said. Still, its kind of a daring juxtaposition someone restricted to religious thinking or practice would not put Buddhist art and Islamic art in the same case.

Free And Reduced Museum Admission

The Asian Art Museum offers free or reduced admission to its collection galleries and special exhibitions through the programs outlined below. Questions? Contact .

Membership Program

Asian Art Museum members and their guests enjoy unlimited free admission to the museums collection galleries and special exhibitions. Learn more about our world-class membership benefits on the Membership Page.

Current members may reserve their free tickets on our ticketing website using their membership ID. If you have any questions or need assistance in planning your visit, contact .

Corporate Partners

Employees of Asian Art Museums corporate sponsors and corporate members receive one or more complimentary admission tickets to both the collection galleries and special exhibitions. Check our Institutional Partnerships page to see if your employer is a corporate member. Many of our corporate partners can arrange tickets in advance by visiting our ticketing page and applying the organizations promotion code upon checkout. If you have questions about corporate benefits or coupon codes, contact .

Reciprocal Benefits

Free First Sunday

On the first Sunday of each month, general admission is free and tickets to our special exhibitions are offered at a discounted price of $10. On Free First Sundays, we have limited same-day, walk-up availability for both general admission and special exhibition tickets, so we highly recommend reserving your tickets ahead of time by visiting our ticketing page.

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Visiting The Seattle Art Museum

One of our favorite activities when we travel is enjoying local museums and art. We think the Seattle Art Museum is the perfect place to spend a leisurely afternoon when visiting the city. SAM houses a diverse collection of art old and new and easily provides several hours of entertainment in a comfortable and spacious setting. Its also just one block from Pike Place Market, making for a convenient stop on a day of Seattle sightseeing.

Thinking about including Seattle Art Museum in your travel plans? Heres everything you need to know for your visit. Check out the KAYAK Seattle travel guide for more Seattle vacation ideas, too.

Seattle Asian Art Museum To Reopen After $56 Million Renovation

The project, which took two years to complete, will allow the museum to showcase more of its collection of art from China, Korea, Japan, India, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia.

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On Saturday, the Seattle Asian Art Museum will reopen after a two-year, $56 million restoration and renovation, unveiling new and modern spaces to share its extensive collection. The building is one of three associated with the Seattle Art Museum, and except for some minor additions, has not had a major renovation since its construction in 1933.

The local firm LMN Architects was hired for the project, which consisted of modernizing the building and its mechanical systems, expanding gallery and education space and preserving its art deco facade. The new design also added a glass-enclosed lobby to the east side of the building, enhancing the connection between the museum and its surroundings in Volunteer Park.

In addition to a new 2,648-square-foot gallery, community meeting room and education studio, the museum received a separate $3.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create a conservation studio specifically designed to support the preservation, mounting and study of Asian paintings.

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Seattle Asian Art Museum

The Seattle Asian Art Museum is a museum of Asian art at Volunteer Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Part of the Seattle Art Museum, the SAAM exhibits historic and contemporary artworks from China, Korea, Japan, India, the Himalayas, and other Southeast Asian countries. It also features an education center, conservation center, and library. The museum is located in the 1933 Art Deco building which was originally home to the Seattle Art Museum’s main collection. In 1991 the main collection moved to a newly constructed Seattle Art Museum building in the downtown area. The Seattle Asian Art Museum opened in 1994.

History Of The Seattle Art Museum

The history of SAM begins in early Seattle history. Here are some of the highlights of SAMs history that established each of its locations and its reputation as a world-class art institution.

The parent institution for SAM, the Seattle Fine Art Society dates back to 1906. The society staged exhibitions at various venues around the city. In 1929, it was renamed the Art Institute of Seattle as it continued to search for a permanent facility. From 1931-1933, a $250,000 donation provided for the construction of a new building located in Capitol Hills Volunteer Parktoday, the site of the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

Seattle Art Museum opened its doors to the public in June 1933 at the Art Deco building in Volunteer Park. Over the next few decades, the museum continued to expand its collections in European and Asian arts, establishing itself as an important institution for international art.

When the 1962 Worlds Fair was hosted by Seattle, the event established the city as a modern arts hub and allowed for further expansion and more diverse displays of art at SAM that continued through the 1970s. In particular, the 1978 exhibit the Treasures of Tutankhamun at the Seattle Center Flag Pavilion expanded the museums profile. The Tut exhibitions popularity and financial success fueled plans for a permanent downtown facility.

In 2020, SAAM at Volunteer Park reopened following an extensive renovation.

Read on for more information about visiting each of the SAM locations.

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Free First Thursday Museums:

At MOHAI, the scavenger hunt has items to locate and questions to answer.

860 Terry Ave NOpen 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The permanent exhibits on the History of Seattle and on Maritime Seattle are always good for stirring the imagination. You can also check out the Bezos Center for Innovation for free. Some special exhibits require an additional tickets. Heres the scoop on free first Thursday. And heres how one family enjoyed their recent MOHAI excursion.

For more family friendly things to do, news, events and travel, sign up for Seattle’s Child newsletters

Museum of Flight9404 E Marginal Way S, TukwilaHours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily open late on first Thursday with free admission from 5 to 9 p.m.

This facility is rejoining the first Thursday museums lineup as of April 7, 2022. Its great for anyone with an interest in aviation, travel, science, history or any number of other areas. Free admission from 5-9 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month.

1300 1st AveOpen 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday

Free first Thursday tickets will give you the run of the permanent collection and special exhibitions these days. SAM is always free for kids 14 and under, discounted for teens and students and free for seniors on First Fridays. See also: 4 easy art projects inspired by a visit to Seattle Art Museum

4300 15th Ave. N.E. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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