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Explore Global Cultures

Discover North Carolina’s only museum dedicated to the study of global cultures. Explore stories of humanity, from ancient archaeological sites to the celebrations and struggles of today. Learn about people from around the world through their everyday objects, ceremonial artifacts, and visual arts.

Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00am to 4:30pm. Admission is free.
Find the Museum on the Wake Forest campus.

Featured Exhibits

east Asian textiles on exhibit

Poems Made to Wear: Traditional Colors in East Asia
Through August 16, 2025

exhibit gallery

Fragments of Changsha: Medieval China in Miniature
Through November 22, 2025

See All Exhibits

Upcoming Events

Closed for Memorial Day

May 24-26

Children’s Group Summer Programs Available

May 27 – July 25

Museum Science for Kids

June 14, 1-2pm

Recent News Stories

Lam Collection on DisplayMay 22, 2025
Internships Benefit Students and MuseumJanuary 24, 2025
Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya Film Screening to Celebrate Indigenous Peoples DayOctober 7, 2024

See All News Stories

Explore the Collection with the Artifact of the Month

Changsha Ware EwerMay 1, 2025
Saudi Arabian DressApril 1, 2025
Roman Tear BottleMarch 3, 2025

See All Artifact of the Month

Find a Craft Activity with Cultures Up Close

See All Cultures Up Close

Stay in Touch

Receive updates on exhibits and events from the Lam Museum

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May 23

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The Museum will be closed this weekend for Memorial Day. Enjoy the holiday!

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May 22

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We’re proud to be a #BlueStarMuseum again in 2025! The Blue Star Museums initiative is a program that provides free admission to currently-serving U.S. military personnel and their families. The program runs through Labor Day, September 1. While we continue to offer free admission to all visitors, we are excited to be able to participate in this program honoring our military personnel and thanking them for their service and sacrifice.

Blue Star Museums is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and participating museums across America.

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May 15

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Parking update for the next few days!

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May 13

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ICYMI in person, our 2024 exhibit "Beyond Drumming: African Musical Instruments" is now online! Check it out today via the Virtual Exhibits link in our bio. Our virtual exhibits webpage has also been reordered so that newer exhibits are at the top, making them easier to find!

#lammuseum #virtualexhibit #anthropology #africanmusic

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May 7

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Goodbye Sequoia 😭... swipe to see our sweet new ride! 😃

#lammuseum #newtruck

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May 1

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Happy #AAPIHeritageMonth! In celebration of this special month and our new exhibit, our May #ArtifactOfTheMonth is a Changsha Ware ewer from Tang Dynasty China. Keep reading to find out what the inscription says.

This ewer was used to serve wine. The vessel’s inscription remained a mystery until recent research by students in the WFU Interpreting and Translation Studies Program revealed its meaning. At first, the students only recognized a few scattered characters, but eventually a stretch of consecutive characters led to a Tang Dynasty poem titled Ode to Snow by Xu Ning. However, the students found that the text didn’t align with this known poem. Rather, it was a potentially unknown rebuttal to Xu Ning’s original, a hidden gem of Tang Dynasty poetic dialog preserved in clay.

Xu Ning’s original reads:
I have long admired the Xie clan's gift for chanting snow;
Now I see the snow and sing wildly too.
If comparing snow to catkins is theft,
Then so be it—how can catkins rival the river of snow?

The poem carved on the ewer, by contrast, subtly mocks the original:
The Xie clan of Chen once chanted snow, their verses renowned through time.
Now, lost in this swirling white, I, too, must sing with reckless rhyme.
If willow catkins is but a stolen line, then let it drift and take its course—
How can it rival the river of snow, rushing forth with boundless force?

#ChangshaWare is a style of #Chinese #pottery that had a major cultural and commercial impact on the medieval world. Produced from around 750 to 900 CE in kilns near the modern city of Changsha in Hunan Province, the pottery is best known for its vibrant, painted glazes that feature floral patterns, animal motifs, abstract designs, and calligraphy. Thanks to the generosity of the Museum’s namesake, Timothy S. Y. Lam, who donated his collection in 2012, the Lam Museum is home to the largest collection of Changsha Ware outside of Asia.

This ewer is on display through November 22, 2025, in the exhibit "Fragments of Changsha: Medieval China in Miniature." Research for this post was conducted by Shelly Ji (MA ‘25), Lin Wang (MA ‘25), and Chris Ni (MA ‘25).

#lammuseum #china #chineseceramics

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Apr 29

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New exhibit alert! "Fragments of Changsha: Medieval China in Miniature" is now open. Featuring more than five dozen ceramic figurines in the Changsha style, the exhibit showcases original student research exploring the themes of miniaturization, ancient technology, and the culture of medieval China. The exhibit will run through November 22.

#lammuseum #chineseceramics #changsha #wakethearts

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Apr 22

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We hope to see you at the Museum tonight!

#lammuseum #translivesmatter

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Apr 17

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We'll be closed tomorrow through Sunday for #Easter Weekend. We look forward to seeing you next week!

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Apr 15

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Please join us next Tuesday for a panel discussion presented in conjunction with the exhibit "Photos of a Moving Self: How Gender Shifted During the Pandemic." We hope to see you then!

#lammuseum #photosofamovingself #lgbtq

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Apr 14

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We had so much fun at our Celebrate East Asia Open House on Saturday! Thanks to everyone who came out despite the chilly weather.

#lammuseum #eastasia #wakethearts

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Apr 11

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We are so excited to see everyone tomorrow as we celebrate the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea! Swipe to see the performance schedule so you don't miss anything. 🪭

#lammuseum #wakethearts #eastasia #crafts #thingstodoinwsnc #free

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Apr 8

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Join us as we celebrate the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea! Our free Celebrate East Asia Open House will feature music, dance, food, crafts, and activities for all ages on Saturday, April 12, from 1 to 4pm. Performances will include the Wake Forest Chinese Ensemble playing traditional Chinese instruments, two fan dances from the Wen Hua Chinese School, and traditional Korean drumming from K Joy Nanta. Korean BBQ and fusion food will be available for purchase from the Bulkogi food truck. Remember, admission is free!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #korea #china #japan #thingstodoinwsnc #free

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Apr 7

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The Museum is pleased to host WFU anthropologist Dr. Timothy Gitzen's talk about his new book "Unscripting the Present: The Security Panic of Queer Youth Sexuality" this Wednesday, April 9, at 5pm.

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Apr 4

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We are very excited that @ncbulkogi will be at our Celebrate East Asia Open House on April 12, serving up their delicious Korean BBQ! We hope to see you there!

#lammuseum #koreanbbq #koreanfood #thingstodoinwsnc

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Apr 2

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Craft preparations are underway for our upcoming Celebrate East Asia Open House next Saturday! Korean hand drums and masks from Japan, China, and Korea are just two of the projects that will be available. We'll also be making paper in the Chinese tradition and coloring Japanese carp windsocks. We hope to see you!

#lammuseum #eastasia #crafts #thingstodoinwsnc

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Apr 1

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Did you know that April is #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth? In recognition of this celebration, our April #ArtifactOfTheMonth is this beautiful Saudi Arabian dress.

In keeping with Muslim standards of modesty, the dress has long sleeves and reaches to the floor. Itwas donated to the Lam Museum by an American collector who lived in #SaudiArabia for more than a decade in the 1960s and 1970s. When she traveled around the country, she would purchase vintage clothing at the local markets. The dresses in her collection are not considered luxurious pieces. They do not represent the metropolitan culture of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, but instead the rustic lifestyles of small villages and nomadic Bedouin communities.

The most striking feature of this dress is its embroidery. Archaeologists can date Arab embroidery back to at least 1300 BCE, because examples were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. It remains an important part of the culture of the Arab world today. Embroidery motifs can have many meanings. They can ward off evil, indicate social status, or depict the local environment. They may contain arabesque or calligraphy designs. The patterns and colors may even reveal the village or area that the wearer comes from.

The embroidered design of this dress hides images of griffins: mythical creatures with the bodies of lions and the heads of eagles. These creatures have been depicted in art throughout West Asia since 3000 BCE, and they may have originated even earlier in Central Asia. In the ancient world, they were believed to live in wild areas and attack travelers. Since the Medieval period, griffins have been used as a symbol of power.

#lammuseum #textiles #embroidery

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Mar 25

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We are excited to showcase music and dance at our upcoming Celebrate East Asia Open House on April 12! Performances will include the WFU Chinese Ensemble playing traditional Chinese instruments, two fan dances from the Wen Hua Chinese School, and traditional Korean drumming from K Joy Nanta. We hope to see you here!

#lammuseum #wakethearts #chinesemusic #chinesedance #chinesefandance #koreandrumming #thingstodoinwsnc #free

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