Asian Games: The Art of Contest
A multitude of the most common, cherished games in the U.S. found their way here from other parts of the world.
Asian Games: The Art of Contest highlights the paramount importance of Asia as a source of chess, backgammon, pachisi, go, playing cards, polo, and many other games now played worldwide. By exploring the evolution and social functions of games in Asia and their transmission to other regions, this exhibition illuminates significant, yet unfamiliar aspects of Asian cultures and their legacy.
Asian Games is organized into four broad categories: Chance includes the games of dice, pachisi (Parcheesi), and the Indian game that inspired Snakes and Ladders; Strategy explores games in which positions and battlegrounds are paramount, such as chess and weiqi. Memory and Matching looks at playing cards, dominoes, and mahjong; and Power and Dexterity examines physical games like kickball and polo. In each section, examples of games and depictions of their use help all visitors, from the playful to the scholarly, explore how games were adopted into new cultural contexts, how they reflected traditional roles of power, class, and gender, and many other fascinating topics.
Availability
Asian Games toured May 2005 through March 2010.
This exhibition has completed its tour and is no longer in circulation. This page is for archival reference only.
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May 15–Aug. 16, 2005
Museum of Anthropology
Winston Salem, NC booked -
Sept. 1–Oct. 5, 2005
Ellen Noel Art Museum
Odessa, TX booked -
Oct. 21–Nov. 30, 2005
Berea College Museums
Berea, KY booked -
Dec. 15–Jan. 19, 2006
Teton County Library
Jackson, WY booked -
Feb. 3–March 10, 2006
Institute of Texan Cultures
San Antonio, TX booked -
March 25–April 30, 2006
Littleton Historical Museum
Littleton, CO booked -
May 15–June 20, 2006
Raupp Memorial Museum
Buffalo Grove, IL booked -
July 5–Aug. 16, 2006
Ruthmere Museum
Elkhart, IN booked -
Sept. 1–Oct. 5, 2006
Karl Drerup Fine Arts Gallery
Plymouth, NH booked -
Oct. 21–Nov. 30, 2006
Clatsop County Historical Society
Astoria, OR booked -
Dec. 15, 2006–Jan. 19, 2007
McLean County Museum of History
Bloomington, IL booked -
Feb. 3–March 10, 2007
Tulsa Community College SE
Tulsa, OK booked -
March 25–April 30, 2007
Ypsilanti District Library
Ypsilanti, MI booked -
May 15–June 20, 2007
Cultural Activities Center
Temple, TX booked -
Sept. 1–Oct. 6, 2007
Joliet Area Historical Museum
Joliet, IL booked -
Oct. 21, 2007–Jan. 19, 2008
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County
Charlotte, NC booked -
Feb. 3–April 30, 2008
Butler County History Center
El Dorado, KS booked -
May 15–Aug. 16, 2008
Greeley Museums
Greeley, CO booked -
Sept. 1–Oct. 20, 2008
West Wyandotte Branch, Kansas City Kansas Public Library
Kansas City, KS booked -
Jan. 28–March 16, 2009
Brigham City Museum Gallery
Brigham City, UT booked -
April 6–May 25, 2009
Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center
Moorhead, MN booked -
June 16–Aug. 11, 2009
Wilmette Historical Museum
Wilmette, IL booked -
Sept. 1–Jan. 7, 2010
The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County
Moorhead, MN booked -
January 28–March 16, 2010
Del Rio Council for the Arts
Del Rio, TX booked