About ACSAA Symposia
ACSAA symposia are opportunities to meet our colleagues, reconnect with mentors and graduate school cohorts, and share one’s current research with the field. Occurring every two years, and hosted by academic institutions and museums, often in conjunction with major exhibitions, ACSAA symposia are one of the primary ways that members gather, share ideas, and participate in the ACSAA community.
The 2026 ACSAA symposium is organized by The Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.
At the 2026 conference, we invite you to attend, present papers, and explore museums and other scholarly resources in Washington, DC. Learn more about ACSAA.
ACSAA membership is required to attend. Join or renew your ACSAA membership.
Registration for this year’s symposium is free due to the generous support of the Elizabeth Moynihan Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art Endowment. Additional support is provided by Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer.
To Register, please CLICK HERE.
SCHEDULE
3 p.m. Registration Opens
4 p.m. Welcome and Introductory Remarks
4:30 p.m. Keynote Panel: In the Realms of Friendship: Emotion, Devotion, and Status in the Visual Arts
- Vidya Dehejia (chair), Columbia University
- Annapurna Garimella, Independent scholar
- Heidi Pauwels, University of Washington
- Molly Emma Aitken, The City College of New York
6:30 p.m. Reception
8 p.m. Reception Concludes
10 a.m. Arrival
10:10 a.m. Welcome and Overview
10:15 a.m. Panel 2: Old Worlds, New Views
- Deepthi Murali (chair), Salila Kulshreshtha, Krishna Shekhawat, Anooradha Siddiqi, Liza Oliver, Alexandra Kaloyanides, Seher Agarwala
11:45 a.m. Break
12 p.m. Panel 3: Art History at the Crossroads: Reconsiderations of Temple, Monastery, Reliquary, and Image
- Rebecca Brown (chair), Abhishek S. Amar, Munazzah Akhtar, Naveen Zaman, Alice Casalini, Naman P. Ahuja
1:30 p.m. Lunch
3 p.m. Panel 4: Rivers, People, Temples
- Padma Kaimal (chair), Tamara I. Sears, Divya Agarwal, Sara Varanese, Mary Beth Heston
4:30 p.m. Break
4:45 p.m. Panel 5: How a Nation Remembers: Archives, Museums, Visual Art, and Material Culture from Pakistan and India
- Sonal Khullar (chair), Komal Afzaal, Atteqa Ali, Daniel Waqar
6:15 p.m. Closing Remarks
6:30 p.m. Program Concludes
10 a.m. Arrival
10:10 a.m. Welcome and Overview
10:15 a.m. Panel 6: Connecting the Arts and Material Cultures of South, Southeast, and East Asia C. 1500-1900
- Sylvia Houghteling (chair), Heeryoon Shin (chair), Joyce Yusi Zhou, Alexandra Dalferro, William Ma, Holly Shaffer, Hawon Ku
11:45 a.m. Break
12 p.m. Panel 7: Making, Meaning, and Method in South Asian Art
- Mika Natif (chair), Sonya Rhie Mace, Ariana Pemberton, John Cort, Elena Pakhoutova, Akshaya Tankha
1:30 p.m. Lunch
3 p.m. Panel 8: Goddesses and Women
- Janice Leoshko (chair), Robert DeCaroli, Dessie Vendova, Yagnaseni Datta, Vaishnavi Patil, Khushmi Mehta
4:30 p.m. Break
4:45 p.m. Panel 9: Practices of Representation: Image, Matter, and Mediation
- Karin Zitzewitz (chair), Meghaa Parvathy Ballakrishnen, Shivani Sud, Anjali Duhan Gulia, Anchit Jain, Anna Seastrand
6:15 p.m. Closing Remarks
6:30 p.m. Program Concludes
10 & 11 a.m. Tour: Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms
- Debra Diamond, National Museum of Asian Art
10 & 11 a.m.: Tour of Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean
- Emma Stein, National Museum of Asian Art
12:30 p.m. Graduate Student Lunch
For all other details, please see the symposium website. If you have questions, please email the 2026 symposium organizers at FreerResearchCenter@si.edu.