The Norton Museum of Art celebrates Lunar New Year with a variety of activities and events open to the public. [Photo by the Norton Museum of Art]
The Norton Museum of Art welcomes the Year of the Snake with its Lunar New Year Community Day, a celebration of Chinese art and culture, on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The festivities kick off the night before during the museum’s Art After Dark with music, art and fireworks over the Intracoastal Waterway.
The Norton Museum has a Chinese collection of over 700 objects spanning 5,000 years. Its Lunar New Year celebration provides an opportunity to view some of its most treasured pieces, including a series of six paintings depicting a lantern festival in Nanjing during the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The paintings, acquired in 2015, are displayed only during the Lunar New Year celebration, running through Feb. 16 this year.
Because the Norton does not have Chinese works featuring snakes, two Japanese artworks will commemorate the Year of the Snake. Visitors will also have the opportunity to explore other artifacts, including a 10th-century “Secret Color” Yue ware circular box, the only example of its kind in the United States.
The Lunar New Year celebrations will begin with “Dancing Dragon in Colorful Clouds: Chinese Folk and Traditional Music,” performed by the Florida State University Chinese Music Ensemble on Feb. 7. Jan Stuart, a curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art, will lecture about grand polychrome lacquer screens, including one from the Norton’s collection.
On Feb. 8, the free Community Day will include:
• “Hao Bang Ah, Snake!” — a traditional Chinese puppet performance by Chinese Theatre Works, celebrating the wit and wisdom of zodiac animals.
• Dragon and lion dances presented by the Lee Koon Hung Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu Association.
• Storytelling with Monica Ladd, a “storytainer” who will share traditional Chinese tales.
• Interactive art activities to create decorated coiled snakes, traditional snake lanterns, and fu calligraphy, symbolizing good fortune for the year ahead.
The museum’s restaurant will serve Chinese dumplings, longevity noodles and spring rolls.
The event, supported by John and Heidi Niblack, has free admission and parking.
Details:
• What — Lunar New Year Community Day
• When — Saturday, Feb. 8, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Where — Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach
• Admission — Free
• Information — 561-832-5196 or www.norton.org
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