Asia Art Archive in America reopened its Reading Room to the public starting Tuesday, September 8th, 2020. The Reading Room had been closed since March 13 in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 in NYC.

The Reading Room collection is now accessible to one researcher at a time by appointment only for either the full day (10am-6pm) or half day, depending on availability. All precautions were being taken to clean and sanitize the room between visitors and all users are required to wear a face mask for the duration of their visit. Additional safety measures would also be in place. For more details or to make an appointment, please email us at info@aaa-a.org.

In order to help new and returning users make the most of the materials available onsite at our reopened Reading Room, the AAA in A team hosted a webinar on September 15 on how to use Asia Art Archive’s digital collection for academic and creative projects.

Developed over the last 20 years in partnership with artists and art professionals, AAA’s Research Collection has become a rich repository of primary source material, photographic documentation, video recordings, ephemera, and more. Much of this collection has now been digitized, making these valuable resources accessible for users worldwide.

This workshop began with an overview of the collection and the content priorities that inform its development then continue with a discussion of how to access and make use of the digitized resources on site at our Brooklyn Heights location. The scope of the collection of secondary materials available at the AAA in A Reading Room were also highlighted. The final half hour of the workshop was dedicated to addressing participants’ questions and helping identify appropriate resources for particular research interests.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.