National Museum of Asian Art Announces an Asia After Dark Program To Commemorate Diwali

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has announced a special Asia After Dark program commemorating Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. The event takes place Friday, Nov. 1, 5–9:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Dance and music performances, food, discussions, crafts and more are on the schedule, including a dance party with DJ Rekha to end the night. The full list of activities is available online. The museum also offers many resources to learn about Diwali on its website, such as virtual tours of related collections, educator resources and webinars.

Diwali spans five days and marks the beginning of the new year in the Hindu calendar. Traditionally celebrated after the year’s last harvest, celebrants honor the goddess of abundance Lakshmi, inviting her to enter and bless their homes, temples and other public spaces. Lights are important to Diwali because Hindu belief holds that Lakshmi cannot enter a dark space.

More than 8,000 people attended the National Museum of Asian Art’s Diwali celebration in November 2023.

About the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art  

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art is committed to preserving, exhibiting, researching and interpreting art in ways that deepen our collective understanding of Asia, the United States and the world. Home to more than 46,000 objects, the museum stewards one of North America’s largest and most comprehensive collections of Asian art, with works dating from antiquity to the present from China, Japan, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Islamic world. Its rich holdings bring the arts of Asia into direct dialogue with an important collection of 19th- and early 20th-century art from the United States, providing an essential platform for creative collaboration and cultural exchange between the U.S., Asia and the Middle East.  

Beginning with a 1906 gift that paved the way for the museum’s opening in 1923, the National Museum of Asian Art is a leading resource for visitors, students and scholars in the United States and internationally. Its galleries, laboratories, archives and library are located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and are part of the world’s largest museum complex, which typically reports more than 27 million visits each year. The museum is free and open to the public 364 days a year (closed Dec. 25), making its exhibitions, programs, learning opportunities and digital initiatives accessible to global audiences.  

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