Museum visit reflects trust, goodwill: Director

The joint visit by Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Melania Trump, wife of US President Donald Trump, to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art was "unprecedented" and reflected the trust and goodwill behind cultural exchanges between the two countries, the museum's director said.

Chase Robinson, director of the National Museum of Asian Art, told China Daily in an interview shortly after the visit that it had been many years since the museum welcomed a head-of-state's wife, and that having two heads-of-state's wives visit at the same time was unprecedented.

Accompanied by Robinson, Peng and Melania Trump visited the Peacock Room before moving to an adjacent gallery, where they viewed Chinese ceramics and a painting scroll.

The Peacock Room, originally designed and executed by US artist James McNeill Whistler for a residence in London, was created to display a collection of ceramics, many of them Chinese.

With blue, green and gold decoration inspired in part by Chinese porcelain and Japanese design, the room has become the museum's most iconic space, Robinson said, describing it as an expression of engagement between the United States and East Asia, particularly China.

After the tour, a choir of US children performed Chinese songs.

Robinson said the visit carried particular cultural significance. It reflected both the significance of the museum and the scale of its partnerships with Chinese institutions. The Smithsonian serves as a resource for Americans and international visitors to experience art, history and culture, he said.

Cultural institutions can contribute to relations in a different but complementary way by promoting cultural heritage and demonstrating the creativity of Asian art, he said.

"Whenever we have the opportunity to champion cultural heritage, to champion the enormous creativity, even the genius of Asian art, we believe that it contributes to mutual understanding; it contributes to a kind of harmonious partnership that we all want to have," he said. "It was a pleasure for us to contribute in that small way, in ways to perhaps complement other discussions that are underway," he said.

The visit also came against the backdrop of long-standing cooperation between the museum and cultural institutions in China.

Robinson recently returned from a trip to China that included Xi'an, Dunhuang and Beijing. During the visit, he met with the director of the Palace Museum in Beijing, an institution with which the National Museum of Asian Art has previously collaborated, including on a major exhibition in 2019.

The museum has also recently hosted representatives from the Hunan Museum and signed a memorandum of understanding with the institution. Representatives of China's National Cultural Heritage Administration also visited the museum.

Robinson said the museum continues to explore opportunities to work with Chinese partners through jointly curated exhibitions, staff and expertise exchanges, and other forms of institutional cooperation. Such partnerships, he said, are ultimately based on the respect that supports productive bilateral relationships.

Robinson also sees growing interest in Asian art in the United States.

The museum is receiving more visitors each year, while its public programs are drawing enthusiastic audiences, he said.

"So I don't doubt, in a world that's growing more interdependent, in a time of globalization, at a time in which Asian American communities are growing in the United States, the future of Asian art is very, very bright and we're delighted to be part of that dynamic," he said.

The director also said he hoped the visit would spur greater interest in Chinese and Asian art as the United States marks its 250th anniversary, with the museum holding programs at home and across Asia to highlight cultural ties.