Thursday, March 5, 2026

Nineteen Pasadena Venues Open Free Friday for ArtNight’s Asian Arts Showcase

The biannual citywide cultural open house features Japanese basketry, taiko drumming, and a pan-Asian mythology exhibition among its broadest lineup

Nineteen cultural institutions across Pasadena will swing open their doors Friday evening for ArtNight Pasadena, offering four hours of free admission to an eclectic program that threads Japanese bamboo art, taiko drumming, and pan-Asian mythology through a lineup spanning jazz, student exhibitions, and community mural-making.

The spring 2026 edition of the city’s signature biannual open house, scheduled for March 13 from 6 to 10 p.m., connects museums, galleries, and neighborhood arts centers on four free shuttle routes. Several of this season’s exhibitions anchor the evening’s prominent Asian arts programming — an emphasis the City of Pasadena’s press release frames around the Year of the Horse celebration.

At the Gamble House, visitors will walk through “From Strand to Sculpture: Contemporary Japanese Basketry,” an exhibition of bamboo art on loan from the collections of Carl and Marilynn Thoma and the Thoma Foundation. The works are displayed in a house whose architects, Charles and Henry Greene, drew deep inspiration from Japanese design. A hands-on basket-weaving workshop led by artist Kelly Dennis Villalba and live music by Jazz Crosswinds, a group blending Japanese koto with guitar, bass, and drums, round out the evening there.

Across town at the Shumei Arts Council on East Colorado Boulevard, Makoto Taiko will perform Japanese drumming at four intervals — 6:15, 7:15, 8:15, and 9:15 p.m. — alongside a casual tea ceremony and the gallery display “The Heart that Seeks Beauty.”

USC Pacific Asia Museum opens its 12-room exhibition “Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry,” conceived by Los Angeles-based Korean American artist Dave Young Kim. The museum-wide installation blends approximately 100 objects from the museum’s collection — spanning 5,000 years — with new media technology and works by more than 20 contemporary artists. At ArtCenter College of Design, four galleries include “2-Yokai,” an animated multimedia work by Andy Fedak and Bruce Yonemoto exploring Japanese mythological spirits, alongside the landmark 1987 film “Kappa” with drawings by Mike Kelley.

The Asian arts thread runs alongside programming that ranges widely. The Armory Center for the Arts pairs DJ Trankis with the exhibition “Material Prophecies: Craft as Divination.” The Pasadena Conservatory of Music offers continuous classical, multicultural, and interactive performances, including the Hindustani classical music trio Absolute Focus. At the Jackie Robinson Community Center, Pasadena-born bassist and composer Michael Haggins performs smooth jazz alongside “GLOW: Art That Shines,” an interactive glow-in-the-dark exhibit, and Jackie and Mack Robinson memorabilia.

Altadena is represented at two venues. At Alkebu-lan Cultural Center on North Raymond Avenue, Altadena artist Sam Pace — whose work blends blues and jazz — is featured alongside live painting by Riea Owens and jazz by Clazzical Notes. At Pasadena City College, the Art Galleries present a solo exhibition of paintings by Mark Steven Greenfield, an Altadena resident whose five-decade career has addressed racial inequities and the African American experience.

The Pasadena Unified School District’s “No Boundaries 21″ at Paseo Colorado features artwork from TK-12 students. ArtWorks Teen Center on East Foothill Boulevard offers live screen-printing demonstrations. At Kidspace Children’s Museum, families can contribute to a community mural celebrating neighborhood resiliency. Pasadena Heritage hosts a participatory pattern-making station with artist Shagho.

The Norton Simon Museum opens its galleries and its recently renovated Sculpture Garden, which underwent a major improvement project that began in January 2025. The museum’s collection includes works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso, as well as South and Southeast Asian sculpture.

ArtNight originated in 1999 as “Radical Past,” a five-venue exhibition initiated by ArtCenter’s Stephen Nowlin and Jay Belloli of the Armory Center for the Arts, in which shuttles connected simultaneous opening receptions. The event, eventually adopted by the City’s Cultural Affairs Division, has grown into a biannual fixture that, according to ArtCenter, draws more than 30,000 visitors per edition across more than 20 venues.

The event is supported in part by the City’s Arts and Culture Commission, which funds Mini-grants enabling smaller organizations and individual artists to participate. Each venue offers a Braille version of the ArtNight brochure, and the event website, ArtNightPasadena.org, is available in Spanish. Many venues, including the City Hall hub at 100 North Garfield Avenue, feature food trucks. ArtNight won the Pasadena Weekly’s 2024 “Best Annual Event” award, according to a City of Pasadena newsletter.

ArtNight Pasadena takes place Friday, March 13, from 6 to 10 p.m. Admission is free at all 19 venues. Free shuttles run on four routes: North, East, Central, and Northwest. For the full lineup and shuttle maps, visit ArtNightPasadena.org or call the ArtNight Hotline at (626) 744-7887.

The first Makoto Taiko performance sounds at 6:15 p.m. By 9:15, the drums will still be going.

ArtNight Pasadena. Friday, March 13, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Cost: Free. For more information call: 626-744-7887. Or click here: https://www.cityofpasadena.net/artnight/