Stony Brook's Wang Center Opens Korean Ritual Arts Exhibition This Spring

Sheets of fragile mulberry paper, folded and shaped for Korean shamanic rituals, are at the center of a new exhibition that opened last Sunday at the Charles B. Wang Center on the Stony Brook University campus. "Sacred Paper: Korean Ritual Arts" runs through May 24, 2026, drawing on traditions from the Chungcheong region and the East Sea coast of South Korea, where such paper objects have long carried what the exhibition describes as "hopes for protection and well-being."

The show features works by two artists rooted in those traditions, Jongseung Park and Dr. Heera Shin, whose pieces the Wang Center describes as revealing "how these delicate objects sustain memory, belief, and the enduring desire for safety." Alongside their work hangs "Again," a typographical mural by Brooklyn-based artist Seongmin Ahn. The piece, which incorporates Eastern and Western styles, motifs, ornaments, and symbols, was conceived as Ahn's manifesto for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and as a meditation on cross-cultural exchange and community bonds.

The exhibition was curated by Jinyoung Anna Jin, the Wang Center's director of Asian art and culture, in partnership with the Academic Center for K-Religions at Sogang University in Seoul. The Academy of Korean Studies and the Korea Foundation are sponsoring both the exhibition and its associated public programs.

An opening reception and live demonstrations took place March 9 from 5 to 7 p.m. The broader program slate includes a lecture titled "AAPI Celebration: On Confluences and Connections," a Japanese Tea Workshop called "Harmony in a Cup," and a hands-on session titled "Woven Forms: Wearable Art with Zip Ties." Specific dates for those programs have not yet been posted; contact the Wang Center's cultural programs line at (631) 632-4400 or email WangCenter@stonybrook.edu for scheduling details.

The Wang Center is located at 100 Nicolls Road in Stony Brook and is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The on-site Jasmine Dining space runs Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.