Beauty in the Box: The Enduring Elegance of Korean Design

This series of programs with local and international artists explores Korean culture through theater, dance, and documentary film. These programs highlight the history and significance of 100 years of Korean immigration to America as part of the observation of the Korean American Centennial.

A Celebration of Korean Culture
Marking 100 Years of Korean Immigration to America and the 50th year of the Korean Association of Minnesota
Saturday, May 31, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Join us for a gallery tour of the exhibition Beauty in the Box, performances by local Korean cultural groups, and light refreshments by Korean Restauraunt Shilla.

1:00 p.m. Chang Mi Korean Dancers
1:15 p.m. Program Welcome
1:30 p.m. Gallery Tour with Beauty in the Box
2:00 p.m. Theater Mu’s Korean Tiger Tales and Pongsan Mask Dance Drama
3:00 p.m. Chang Mi Korean Dancers
3:30 p.m. Mu Gung Hwa Korean Dancers

Chang Mi Korean Dancers feature Twin Cities girls performing Korean court and folk dances in traditional costumes.
A gallery tour of Beauty in the Box will explore the design, construction, and use of selected objects from the exhibition. Weisman Director and exhibition curator Lyndel King will lead the tour, joined by artist and carpenter John Marshall, and Korean antiques specialist Woodrow Woojin Byun. Minneapolis’
Theater Mu performs Korean folk stories and traditional festival dance in Korean Tiger Tales and Pongsan Mask Dance Drama.
Mu Gung Hwa Korean Dancers perform traditional Korean dance and drums. Mu Gung Hwa, or pink hibiscus, is the national flower of South Korea. This Twin Cities dance academy is led by instructor Eunhye Lee, who holds a degree in Traditional Dance from Han Yang University in Seoul.

Korean National Treasures
Perform Traditional Music and Dance
Saturday, June 28, 7:00 p.m.
Coffman Memorial Union Theater, 300 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis
Parking Available in East River Road Garage
$10/$5 WAM members, students, seniors
Tickets available at the Weisman Museum Store at 612-625-9495
Korea’s most esteemed professional folk dancers and musicians share their traditional arts in this performance. This event is cosponsored by the Weisman Art Museum and the Korean Association of Minnesota.

Midwest Premiere
Film Screening and Director’s Talk
Arirang: The Korean American Journey
116 min., with director Tom Coffman
Thursday, July 10, 7:00 p.m.
In recognition of the Korean American Centennial, Tom Coffman’s documentary traces Korean immigration to the United States, beginning 100 years ago at Honolulu Harbor. It culminates with the intense ferment that has occurred in the Korean American community since the 1992 Los Angeles riots, when 2500 Korean businesses were burned. This documentary builds understanding of the Korean experience and puts viewers in touch with the emergence in western America of a swiftly growing Asian American population.