FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2008

DC'S ROLE AS A CULTURAL CROSSROADS COMES INTO FOCUS
WITH CITYWIDE SILK ROAD CELEBRATION

At the heart of the Silk Road, Afghanistan was the historic link between China, India, Persia, the Middle East, and the West. As the National Gallery of Art welcomes the U.S. premiere of the exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, museums, cultural institutions and restaurants throughout the city are joining together to celebrate the Silk Road cultures that also intermingle in the nation's capital.

Running Memorial Day through Labor Day, Washington, DC Celebrates the Silk Road showcases the city's distinctive international flavor and role as a crossroads of culture, evident in the collection of more than 170 foreign embassies, residences, chanceries and diplomatic missions and high-profile international organizations that make their homes here. Museums, theatres and cultural organizations complement DC's global character by exploring topics that appeal to the city's well-traveled, worldly residents and visitors in their permanent collections and special programs.

Washington, DC Celebrates the Silk Road: Exhibitions, Events & Activities

Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, a landmark traveling exhibition, co-organized by the National Geographic Society and the National Gallery of Art, and comprising 228 extraordinary artifacts uncovered in modern-day Afghanistan will begin its U.S. tour at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, where it will be on view from May 25 through Sep. 7, 2008. The Gallery will offer a diverse program of lectures, films, and family activities related to the exhibition. All programs are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Opening Day Celebrations: Sun., May 25:

Film
Lost Treasures of Afghanistan (National Geographic, 2006, 56 mins.), 11:30 am
East Building Auditorium

Performances
Traditional Afghan Music, 1 pm-2 pm
Renowned Afghan musician and composer Vaheed Kaacemy and ensemble
West Building, East Garden Court

Children's Songs from Afghanistan, 4 pm-4:30 pm
Vaheed Kaacemy and local Afghan children
Book signing follows

Lecture
Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, 2 pm
Fredrik Hiebert, exhibition curator and National Geographic Archaeology Fellow
East Building Auditorium
Book signing follows, 3 pm

Ongoing celebrations:
Film Festival: Afghanistan on Film
East Building Auditorium
A ten-part series presenting a portrait of the country through recent documentary, contemporary fiction, and short media works. The program includes European, American, and Afghan perspectives.

Gallery Talks
Led by a Gallery educator in the exhibition, 60-minute talks will offered throughout the summer.

National Geographic Society
Grosvenor Auditorium
1600 M St. NW
(202) 857-7000
Metro: Farragut North

Symposium
National Geographic Live!
"Afghanistan: Voices of Cultural Preservation"
May 22, 6-8:30 pm
General public $18; members $15

National Geographic Live! will present a panel discussion on the ongoing efforts to preserve Afghanistan's rich yet still endangered cultural heritage. Participants represent a cross-section of disciplines and experiences. Omara Masoudi, Director of the National Museum of Afghanistan, supervised the rebuilding of the Museum after its near-total destruction during the country's civil war. A photographer and humanitarian, Reza has documented Afghanistan for over two decades, and now directs AINA, an organization devoted to the development of an independent Afghan media. Exhibition curator and archaeologist Fred Hiebert played a key role in the recovery and verification of the "Bactrian hoard," a priceless collection of Silk Road-era artifacts. Photographer Steve McCurry has covered Afghanistan since the struggle against the Soviets, and photographed the iconic image of the "Afghan Girl," in 1984. And Shamim Jawad, founder of Ayenda, a foundation dedicated to improving the lives of Afghan families, is a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council and co-chair of the Afghan Children's Initiative (ACI). Moderating the discussion will be Fred Starr, Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

National Geographic Museum
1145 17th St. NW
(202) 857-7588
Metro: Farragut North

Exhibitions
Visions of China
Through July 13, 2008
From the snow-covered Great Wall to dazzling modern architecture and habits of the newly rich, this exhibition offers images taken throughout China. Based on coverage for the National Geographic special issue on China (May 2008), the photographs document tradition and change in the world's most populous country.

China's Forgotten Fleet: Voyages of Zheng He
June 11-Sep. 7, 2008
Nearly a century before Columbus arrived in the Americas, a massive Chinese armada commanded by Admiral Zheng He set sail on the first of seven epic voyages. Over the course of three decades, his fleet of ships sailed from China to many places in the South Pacific, Persian Gulf, and distant Africa. This exhibition tells the story of these little-known journeys and cultural exchanges through objects, maps, and ship models from the National Museum in China and the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.

Shaolin: Temple of Zen
Photographs by Justin Guariglia
June 11-Sep. 7, 2008
Over the past eight years, photographer Justin Guariglia won the trust of the notoriously secretive warrior monks of the Shaolin Temple, a unique Chinese Buddhist sect dedicated to preserving a form of kung fu referred to as the "vehicle of Zen." With the blessing of the main abbot, Shi Yong Xin, Guariglia collaborated with the monks to create an astonishing record of these Shaolin art forms. The exhibition will feature images and video from Guariglia documenting these individuals, who consider themselves the keepers and masters of their centuries-old art forms in their original setting, a 1,500-year-old Buddhist temple. Aperture, a not-for-profit organization devoted to photography and the visual arts, has organized this traveling exhibition and produced the accompanying publications.

Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Sackler Gallery: 1050 Independence Ave. SW
Freer Gallery of Art: Jefferson Drive at 12th St. SW
(202) 633-4880
Metro: Smithsonian

Performance
Escape to Nature: Chinese Kunqu Theater
Fri., June 13, 2008, 7:30 pm, Meyer Auditorium
Sat., June 14, 2008, 2:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium

Pre-performance gallery tours:
Fri., June 13, Arts of China, 6:45 pm
Sat., June 14, Yellow Mountain, 1:15 pm

Actors of classical Chinese kunqu music-theater in full costume and makeup perform with a six-member ensemble on traditional Chinese instruments. Friday night features the scenes "Kneeling by the Pond," "Searching for the Rat," and "Sweeping under a Pine Tree," in which a man in mourning sings a moving ode to nature. On Saturday, "The Butterfly Dream" and "The Lotus Song" precede "The Sorrowful Witness," in which the Ming emperor retreats to the mountains disguised as a Buddhist monk. Presented in cooperation with the Wintergreen Kungu Society.

The Magic Mountain: Taiwanese Puppet Theater
Sat., June 21, 12:00 pm, Sackler Sublevel 1
Sat., June 21, 3:00 pm, Sackler Sublevel 1
Sunday, June 22, 2:00 pm, Sackler Sublevel 1

Pre-performance gallery tours:
Sat., June 21, Yellow Mountain, 2 pm
Sun., June 22, Yellow Mountain, 1 pm

Master Taiwanese puppeteer Liao Wen-ho and his Glove Puppet Theater perform original scenes from the classic Journey to the West, in which a Buddhist monk and his retinue of animal friends cross the mysterious mountains of western China, where they encounter giants, demons, monsters, and a village celebration. Presented in cooperation with the Taipei Cultural Center, New York.

Arab Music from Iraq: Rahim Alhaj, 'ud; Souhail Kaspar, percussion
Thurs., July 31, 7:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium
Iraqi-born musician Rahim Alhaj earned a Grammy nomination in 2008 for his CD "When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq," released on the Smithsonian Folkways label. He studied at the famed Baghdad Conservatory under the late Munir Bashir, who was perhaps the greatest 'ud master of the twentieth century. Since arriving in the United States in 2000, Alhaj has released three more CDs, including one for 'ud and string quartet. Legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell calls Aljah's music "beautiful, mysterious, and powerful."

Exhibitions
Taking Shape: Ceramics in Southeast Asia
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Through 2010
Unveiled on April 1, approximately 200 diverse and visually striking ceramic vessels from Southeast Asia are on long-term view through the year 2010 in Taking Shape: Ceramics in Southeast Asia. The clay pots and jars form the most enduring record of human activity in this part of the world, during the prehistoric period to the present.

Donated to the Sackler between 1996 and 2005 by brothers Osborne and Victor Hauge and their wives Gratia and Takako, these remarkable objects provide the focus for a detailed narrative of the migration of pots from their makers to their users. Included in the Hauge gift are more than 800 vessels made in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, together with Chinese bowls and jars exported to Southeast Asia. Plans are under way to publish online all 800 objects in the Hauge Collection of Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia. This dynamic web-based catalogue will grow and evolve as new discoveries and research are incorporated into the site.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library (Central Library)
901 G St. NW, Second floor
(202) 727-0321
Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown

Exhibition
The DC Public Library Art Division presents an exhibition of maps, images, and a children's songbook related to the National Gallery of Art exhibition, Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul.

Lecture
Fredrik Hiebert, exhibition curator and National Geographic Archaeology Fellow, will present a slide-illustrated lecture. Date TBD.

National Building Museum
401 F St. NW
(202) 272-2448
Metro: Judiciary Square

Lecture
"Afghanistan's Architectural Legacy"
May 28, 6:30 pm-8 pm
General public $20; museum members and students $12
Dr. Habiba Sarabi, governor of Afghanistan's Bamiyan Province, will discuss the role of cultural preservation and the Afghani architectural landscape. Dr. Sarabi is the first woman to ever be governor in the country. The Bamiyan Valley, a World Heritage Site, is perhaps best known for the two monumental statues of Buddha that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. This program is presented in partnership with US/ICOMOS and with the cooperation of the National Geographic Society.

Shakespeare Theatre Company
Sidney Harman Hall
610 F St. NW
(202) 547-1122
Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown

Exhibition
"Shakespeare in Kabul" is a selection of photographs documenting performances of Shakespeare plays in Afghanistan. Presented in conjunction with the Roman Repertory performances of Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, the exhibition is displayed on the 2nd level of the theatre is and on view for ticket holders only. On view through July 6.

Sixth & I Synagogue
600 I St. NW
(202) 408-3100
Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown

Lecture
"An Evening with Afghan Ambassador to the United States Said T. Jawad and Mrs. Shamim Jawad"
July 17, 7:00 pm
$6 admission

The Smithsonian Associates
(202) 633-3030

Lecture
Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
Fredrik Hiebert, exhibition curator and National Geographic Archaeology Fellow
In Cooperation with the National Geographic Society and the National Gallery of Art.
Mon., August 11, 6:45 pm-9 pm. Location to be announced.
General public $40; Resident Members $30; Senior Members $27

With their country in crisis, a small group of Afghans in 1978 hid thousands of artifacts and other ancient national treasures from their National Museum to protect them. The priceless hoard stayed safely secreted for 25 years as the Soviets invaded, bloody power struggles followed, and the Taliban took over. Then, in 2003, the Afghan government invited archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert to inventory the artifacts. What he found astonished him - and the rest of the world.To complement the traveling exhibit of some 200 pieces from the cache, this evening Hiebert talks about the thousands of years of history represented, the cultural significance, and how the treasures were preserved. Ranging in date from 2200 BC to 200 AD, the objects come from four archaeological sites. The works include more than 100 gold ornaments from among the 20,000 pieces found in 1978 at the burial site of six Bactrian nomads; gold bowls with artistic links to Mesopotamia; bronze and stone sculptures; and bronzes, ivories, and painted glassware imported from Greco-Roman and Indian territories.

# # #

About Destination DC: Destination DC, the lead destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization of more than 1,000 businesses committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities.