Vintage Japanese Garden postcard
Courtesy of Japanese American National Museum
Descanso Gardens will present “Sharing Culture | Creating Community” at the Sturt Haaga Gallery in celebration of the 50th anniversary of its Japanese Garden. Running from Oct. 15, 2016, through Jan. 29, 2017, the exhibition highlights how the Japanese Garden has brought together people from different backgrounds and cultures and has offered them a new, intimate and soul-nourishing experience with nature.
The Japanese Garden has delighted generations of Descanso Gardens visitors with its aesthetic beauty and unique interpretation of the garden language of Japan. “Sharing Culture | Creating Community” explores how a garden is created; how it functions as a work of living art; how it transmits cultural ideas; and how it can act as a catalyst for building community. As works of art, gardens reflect, represent and help us appreciate the cultures of the people who design and care for them. “Sharing Culture | Creating Community” displays the history of the Japanese Garden, the context of the garden among Japanese-style gardens in the United States and the influence Japanese-style gardens have had on contemporary artists.
“We’re so happy to be able to tell the stories behind Descanso’s Japanese Garden on the occasion of its 50th anniversary,” said David R. Brown, Descanso Gardens executive director. “It’s a space very popular with the public and important in our history because it illustrates so beautifully how gardens can be not only works of art, but also evidence of important moments in the culture and history of greater Los Angeles.”
“Sharing Culture | Creating Community” is funded in part by Heather and Paul Haaga and the Pasadena Art Alliance. Additional support for Sturt Haaga Gallery exhibitions is provided by Wells Fargo and Richard Carlson and Erin Maclean Culley.
Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Monday, when the Gallery is closed. Admission to the Sturt Haaga Gallery is free with Gardens admission: $9 for adults; $6 for seniors and students with a school I.D.; $4 for children 5 to 12, and free for age 4 and younger.
Founded as a public garden in 1953, Descanso Gardens is a member-supported garden accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Join Descanso Gardens and enjoy free admission and early entry year-round. Descanso Gardens is open daily (closed Christmas) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information: (818) 949-4200 or descansogardens.org.
