Exhibition Considers Asian Roots of Games

A major new exhibition at the Asia Society Museum in New York City examines the art and legacy of games in Asia. The exhibition, Asian Games: The Art of Contest, will be on display from Oct. 14, 2004, through Jan. 16, 2005. "Many of the games that we take for granted today have their origins in ancient Asian societies," said Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu in a press release.

"What we see in this exhibition is that games have been as significant as trade and religion in transmitting cultural forms and ideas," Chiu said. "In tracing their spread across different societies, we also see how certain games retained unique qualities that reflect the cultural aspirations and values of their players."

"Without games, people would be unendurably bored," said exhibition curator Colin Mackenzie, Middlebury College Museum of Art, in the release. "Yet the role of games in society has been largely neglected by cultural historians. By exploring the evolution and social functions of games in Asia and their transfer to other regions, Asian Games illuminates important yet unfamiliar aspects of Asian culture and their ongoing legacy."