STORY: Premier museum in Southern California expects to strengthen cultural links with China
DATELINE: Oct. 26, 2023
LENGTH: 0:01:04
LOCATION: LOS ANGELES, U.S.
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Bowers Museum

STORYLINE:

Bowers Museum, a premier cultural art museum in Southern California, the United States, expects to further strengthen cultural links with China and serve as a bridge for boosting U.S.-China understanding, the museum's new President and CEO, Dr. Seán O'Harrow, said in a recent interview.

Located in the heart of Orange County, Bowers Museum has eight permanent collection exhibitions showcasing art and artifacts from cultures around the world, including a dedicated China gallery.
   
The Ancient Arts of China gallery presents a remarkable collection of nearly 200 objects, created from Neolithic times to the Qing Dynasty.
   
Artifacts in the gallery represent all the major forms of artistic expression generally associated with Chinese history and culture, including calligraphy, painting, ceramics, bronzes, textiles, and sculpture.
   
"China has been one of the major cultures in the world. Also being on the West Coast and along the Pacific, we consider China our neighbor. So it's important to have a very important gallery here (about China) and continue the cultural connection with the Chinese people," O'Harrow said.

Since its founding in 1936, Bowers Museum has cooperation and exchange programs with Chinese museums, including the Palace Museum, Nanjing Museum, and Shanghai Museum.
   
It has hosted various exhibitions featuring cultural heritage in the Forbidden City, Tibet, Xinjiang, the Terra-Cotta Warriors in Shaanxi Province, and other parts of China.
   
The museum plans to extend partnerships with China in the future, according to O'Harrow.
   
"We are working with new museums that are opening in Fujian Province that specialize in the Pacific Rim and Pacific Islands. We are going to be loaning artwork to those museums," he told the reporter.
   
Bowers Museum also plans to bring more contemporary artists from China, O'Harrow said, adding it is important to make a connection between the past, the present, and the future.
   
Anne Shih, chairwoman of the Board of Governors of Bowers Museum, launched a "Junior Ambassadors Program" for the museum in 2001, with an aim to expose young participants to the rich history and culture of ancient China while helping them improve public service and presentation skills.
   
The museum has been a base for students in Orange County to experience Chinese history and civilizations.
   
"We have a big responsibility to teach students, the youth people, world cultures. Having a Chinese gallery is extremely important, especially when you talk about the development of cultures throughout Asia, the origins of Chinese culture and religion, and the influence of countries that are surrounding China and the history," O'Harrow said.
   
Bowers Museum will continue to serve as a bridge for U.S.-China cultural exchanges and people-to-people friendship, he noted.
   
"We hope to bring the Chinese culture to American audiences through various exhibitions so that they can learn more about China's profound history and splendid culture," Shih said.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Los Angeles, U.S.
(XHTV)