22 ASIAN ART: CULTURAL AND GLOBAL CONNECTIONS SCMA HAS A LONG TRADITION OF collecting Asian art, dating back more than a century to 1913. Since then, mostly through generous gifts from Smith alumnae but also through forward-looking purchases, we have built a collection of Asian art that stands out among college art museums throughout the country. Currently, the collection is most comprehensive in Japanese art, then Chinese art, followed by art from Korea and South and Southeast Asian countries— reveal- ing more about the American history of understanding Asia and collecting Asian art than about the rich and diverse histories of arts from Asia themselves. As a concept and term, “Asia” has been used to define the world’s most populous geographic area bound together by historical, economic and political conditions. “Asian art,” too, is an arbitrary cultural construct that embodies many diverse and connected cultures in the region that have been evolving over cen- turies. In the past year, two special exhibitions, Japanese Lacquer in the Collection of Dr. Elizabeth E. Force and 体 Modern Images of the Body from East Asia took very distinct approaches to the presentation of Asian art: one focused on a traditional art form from a particular country, whereas the other aimed at forging connections among East Asian nations and situating Asia in a modern global context. Related programs and projects reflected SCMA’s dual mission pertaining to Asian art: to cultivate visual and cultural literacy specific to artistic traditions in Asia; and to reveal the connections between Asia and the rest of the world that enable our U.S. audiences to relate to its arts and histories on a deeper level. Both of these special projects were fund- ed by the Nolen Endowed Fund for Asian Art Initiatives. ASIAN ART: CULTURAL AND GLOBAL CONNECTIONS ABOVE: Smith students in 体 Modern Images of the Body from East Asia during Night at Your Museum