The Clock Is Ticking For SAM’s Gorgeous “Peacock in the Desert” Show

The Seattle Art Museum’s major fall exhibition, Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India, closes Monday January 21, 2019. Showcasing five centuries of artistic creation from the kingdom of Marwar-Jodhpur in Rajasthan, the exhibition features intricate paintings, decorative arts, elaborate tents, canopies, textiles, and jewelry—many of which have never before been seen beyond palace walls or traveled to the United States.

 

As demolition begins on the Alaskan Way Viaduct in January, SAM will have a special offer for visitors to the downtown museum. January 11–21, visitors can get a 2-for-1 discount on tickets for the special exhibition, available online only using discount code 2For1Peacock.

 

HOLIDAY HOURS AT SAM

 

SAM will be closed on major upcoming holidays that land on days that the museum is typically closed, with the exception of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is also the final day of the exhibition.

 

• Mon Dec 24 (Christmas Eve): CLOSED
• Tue Dec 25 (Christmas Day): CLOSED
• Mon Dec 31 (New Year’s Eve): CLOSED
• Tue Jan 1 (New Year’s Day): CLOSED
• Mon Jan 21 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day): 10 am–5 pm

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

Wed–Sun through Jan 20

Peacock in the Desert Tours

1:15 and 2:15 pm

Seattle Art Museum

Take a guided tour to discover even more about the art of India. Decode the meaning of paintings, marvel at the craftsmanship of skilled artisans, and learn about the continuing legacy of the Maharaja. Tours will provide historical context, emphasize close looking, and encourage visitors to draw personal connections to Rajasthan, India’s largest state. Free with exhibition entry.

 

Fri Jan 11–Sat Jan 19

Tasveer Reads: South Asian Literary Festival

Various locations

SAM’s Gardner Center for Asian Art & Ideas and Tasveer present Tasveer Reads: South Asian Literary Festival, which brings together an eclectic group of writers expressing a wide range of South Asian diasporic voices. The festival is free and open to the public.

• Fri Jan 11

Tasveer Reads: South Asian Literary Festival Keynote Talk

7–9 pm

Hugo House

Author Amitava Kumar gives the opening talk for the South Asian Literary Festival on his new novel Immigrant, Montana (2018). This literary immigrant tale fuses story and reportage, anecdote and annotation, picture and text.

• Sat Jan 12

Tasveer Reads: Race and Gender in South Asian American Literature

1–5 pm

Elliott Bay Book Company

Hear a panel discussion on issues of race and gender in South Asian American literature moderated by the University of Washington’s Radhika Govindarajan. Following at 3pm, author Sharmila Sen will read from and discuss her autobiography, Not Quite Not White: Losing and Finding Race in America. Sen is executive editor-at-large at Harvard University Press.

• Sat Jan 19

Tasveer Reads: Film Adaptation in the US

1–5 pm

Seattle Art Museum

Hear a conversation on issues surrounding film adaptation in the US with author Sohrab Homi Fracis (Go Home) and producer Allan Marcil (Dolphin Cove). At 3 pm, authors Shobha Rao (Girls Burn Brighter) and Chaitali Sen (The Pathless Sky) discuss their novels. Rao is the Grace Paley Teaching Fellow at The New School in New York City. The Pathless Sky is the debut novel from Austin-based writer Chaitali Sen.

 

Sun Jan 13

Asia Films: A Throw of Dice (Prapancha Pash)

2–3:30 pm

Seattle Art Museum

Directed by Himansu Rai and Franz Osten, this silent film presents the tale of Ranjit and Sohan, two kings gambling for the love of Sunita, the daughter of a hermit. The two men decide to play a round of craps to determine who will marry her, but the game does not end there. Shot in 1920s Rajasthan with Indian cinema stars and presented with new music.