Set to take place today, the museum cancels festival due to Monterey Park Mass shooting.
In light of the devastating news of the deadly mass shooting in neighboring Monterey Park, the USC Pacific Asia Museum is canceling its Lunar New Year Festival that was scheduled for today. As the only Asian and Pacific Islander art and culture museum in Southern California, USC PAM is a haven for the AAPI community. USC PAM and the USC community mourns with Los Angeles County, and we are canceling the event out of respect for the victims and an abundance of caution.
“All of us at USC PAM are heartbroken to hear about the horrific violence that happened in our home in the San Gabriel Valley,” said Dr. Bethany Montagano, USC Pacific Asia Museum Director, “Our hearts mourn with the victims’ families and our community members at this time.”
ABOUT USC PACIFIC ASIA MUSEUM
An integral part of the University of Southern California, the USC Pacific Asia Museum creates inspiring encounters with the art, history, and culture of Pacific Asia to promote intercultural understanding in the service of elevating our shared sense of humanity. Established in 1971, the museum is one of few U.S. institutions dedicated to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands serving the city of Los Angeles and the Greater Southern California region. The museum’s historic building has served as a center for art, culture and learning in Pasadena since its construction in 1924 by pioneering collector and entrepreneur Grace Nicholson (1877-1948) as her residence and galleries. In its brief history, the museum has organized and presented several groundbreaking exhibitions, including the first North American exhibitions of contemporary Chinese art and the first exhibition of Aboriginal art in the United States. Exhibitions originated by the museum have traveled across the country and internationally. A leader in its academic work and committed to scholarship, USC PAM has produced more than 50 exhibition catalogs.