Arts
Exhibitions and learning
We work with museums and cultural organizations across the U.S. on exhibitions and public programs about Asian art and its history.
Art · Music · Cultural Heritage
Culture carries us forward.
Supporting cultural enrichment and creative expression through the arts, music, scholarship, and public engagement.
California · Founded 2025 · 501(c)(3)
News · 2026
Amal | Hope
Won four Telly Awards in 2026. Directed by Eros Zhao, the documentary is part of JAVCA Foundation’s work in art and culture.
Explore the arts projects ↗Our work
Distinct disciplines.
Shared purpose.
From exhibitions and scholarship to music and collections, each program creates a new way to encounter culture.
About JAVCA Foundation
Arts and music, in public life.
A California 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2025 with support from Audrey Jiao.
- California
- 501(c)(3)
- Founded 2025
What we do
Two areas of work.
JAVCA supports Asian art and music through exhibitions, public programs, and direct support for artists.
Music
Support for musicians
We provide grants, mentoring, and practical support to emerging musicians, ensembles, and composers. Pacific Serenades is a key partner.
Leadership
People behind the work.
Leadership, scholarship, and community outreach come together across the foundation’s programs.
President · Founding Partner
Ms. Audrey Jiao
President of JAVCA Foundation and Founding Partner, National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Eros Zhao
JAVCA Foundation is thrilled to announce the appointment of Eros Zhao, Ph.D., as its CEO.
Dr. Zhao is an artist, scholar, collector, and award-winning documentary director. He received his Ph.D. in Art Administration from Shih Chien University in Taiwan, his M.A. in Art History from UCLA, his M.F.A. in Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and his B.A. from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China, with a major in Chinese Painting.
His projects have involved renowned organizations such as the Smithsonian Institution, LACMA, MFA Boston, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Steinway & Sons Piano. He has worked as Special Exhibition Curator at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and as Exhibition Consultant at the Denver Art Museum. His publications include the Chinese translation edition of Studies in Connoisseurship: Chinese Paintings from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections in New York, Princeton, and Washington, D.C. (original by Marilyn and Shen Fu, Princeton University Press, 1973).
Dr. Zhao directed the documentary In Our Hands for the Smithsonian Channel in 2023. His film work has received critical acclaim, including the Oscar-qualified film Amal | Hope, which won the Best Documentary Short award at the 2025 Bali International Film Festival and four Telly Awards in 2026.
ErosZhao.com ↗
Secretary · Director of Community Outreach
Blake Barron
Blake Barron is an aspiring physician and lifelong artist whose academic and personal pursuits reflect a deep appreciation for the relationship between art and science.
With a background in biology and medical research, Blake has developed a particular interest in ophthalmology, focusing on the preservation and restoration of vision. This work has brought a new perspective to a lifelong passion for the arts, revealing how deeply our ability to see is connected to the ways we experience beauty, interpret the world, and connect with one another. For Blake, art and medicine are not separate disciplines, but complementary ways of understanding the human experience. While scientific research seeks to preserve and improve quality of life, art gives meaning and expression to the experiences that make life worth preserving.
Through involvement with the JAVCA Foundation, Blake hopes to explore these connections further, contributing to initiatives that recognize the enduring value of art and its capacity to enrich lives across disciplines and generations.
Programs · 01
Art in dialogue across time.
JAVCA Foundation supports films, exhibitions, and educational outreach that bring Asian art and cultural history into conversation with contemporary audiences.
Amal | Hope
Oscar-qualified short documentary.
Directed by Eros Zhao. Won four Telly Awards in 2026.
Untelling Time: The Art of Lacquer
Curated by Dr. Einor K. Cervone.
Antonio and the Last Wizard
Documentary film directed by Eros Zhao.
Our approach
History made accessible.
The foundation partners with museums, galleries, and cultural institutions across the United States to develop innovative exhibitions and interactive educational outreach focused on the histories and techniques of Asian arts.
Programs · 02
Music that makes room for new voices.
JAVCA Foundation is proud to support Pacific Serenades as the cornerstone of its outreach and public engagement efforts in music.
Music partner
Pacific Serenades
Founded by Prof. Mark Carlson, Ph.D., in 1982, Pacific Serenades grew from his vision as a UCLA graduate student in composition and professional flutist. He saw a vibrant, distinct musical landscape emerging among Los Angeles composers, diverging from the East Coast’s perceived dominance in classical music.
Visit Pacific Serenades ↗A living tradition
New work alongside beloved repertoire.
Recognizing that much of the classical repertoire originated from works commissioned for specific occasions, the organization was founded to provide a dedicated platform for local talents to freely compose music emphasizing melody, tonality, and eclectic influences.
By presenting these new pieces alongside beloved standard chamber music repertoire, performed by exceptional local musicians, Pacific Serenades championed innovative yet accessible works.
115
Original compositions commissioned and premiered, 1982–2025
Recent events
Programs · 03
Scholarship that keeps history in conversation.
The JAVCA Foundation is a dedicated patron of global cultural heritage and academic excellence.
We take immense pride in supporting prestigious universities and museums in their pursuit of groundbreaking research and curatorial innovation. By sponsoring international exhibitions, funding scholarly publications, and facilitating cross-disciplinary academic projects, we aim to bridge the gap between historical preservation and modern interpretation.
At JAVCA, our mission is to ensure that the profound legacies of art and history continue to inspire and inform future generations through rigorous scholarship and public engagement.
National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture
In 2025, JAVCA Foundation is proudly supporting The Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture—a place dedicated to honoring the achievements, progress, and lasting impact of Asian Pacific Americans across the centuries.
Independent scholarship and dialogue.
Founded in 1986, the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies (CCS) promotes scholarship in all disciplines, fosters a research and teaching environment free from political and financial pressures, and makes scholarly investigations available beyond academic circles. CCS aims to become the strongest institution for China scholarship in the Western hemisphere and to serve as an independent forum for dialogue on China’s past, present, and future.
JAVCA Foundation has proudly supported the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies since 2026.
Untelling Time: Art of Lacquer
JAVCA Foundation will support the publication and exhibition of the Denver Art Museum’s exhibition in 2028.
Untelling Time: Art of Lacquer brings traditional masterpieces of East Asian lacquer into dialogue with contemporary and medium-defying lacquer art. It moves beyond frames limited to technique, chronology, or region, and is the first exhibition in the US to reframe the subject thematically through the notion of time and temporality.
Programs · 04
JAVCA Collections
Chinese art7th–13th centuriesTang through Song dynasties
The JAVCA Collection is focused on collecting, researching, and exhibiting Chinese art from the 7th to 13th centuries, spanning the Tang through Song dynasties.
Collection highlights
Objects across centuries.
The collection encompasses painting and calligraphy, Buddhist art, metal and porcelain works, lacquer art, and related subjects.
JAVCA Foundation emphasizes preserving and showcasing the profound artistic innovations and historical significance of this golden era in Chinese cultural heritage.
唐 天龍山石窟菩薩造像
Tang Dynasty, Tianlongshan Cave Bodhisattva Statue
唐 石刻佛頂尊勝陀羅尼經幢
Tang Dynasty Stone-Carved Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra Pillar
唐 響銅六足葵口香薰爐
Tang Dynasty Resonant Bronze Six-Legged Lobed-Rim Incense Burner
唐 銀鎏金簪刻忍冬紋舍利函
Tang Dynasty, Silver Gilt Śarīra Box with Chased Honeysuckle Pattern
宋 張即之楷書赤壁賦
Zhang Jizhi, Regular Script of the Red Cliff Ode, Song Dynasty
宋 閒極法雲 行書無外二大字
Xianji Fayun, Running Script of the Two Large Characters “Wu Wai”, Song Dynasty
宋 夏圭款山水小景
Attribute to Xia Gui, A Landscape Scene, Song Dynasty
宋-元 張月壺 岩上觀音
Zhang Yuehu, Guanyin on the Rock, Song-Yuan Dynasty
北宋 黑漆夾紵蓮瓣溫碗
Northern Song Dynasty, Black Dry Lacquer Lotus Petal Warming Bowl
南宋 存星填漆牡丹紋軸盆
Song Dynasty, Filled Lacquer Scroll Basin with Peony Pattern
明 永樂 剔紅鳳穿牡丹紋大盤，“大明永樂年制”款
Ming Dynasty Yongle Period, Carved Red Lacquer Dish with Phoenix Threading Through Peony Pattern, “Da Ming Yongle Nian Zhi” Mark
Gatherings · Screenings · Performances
Events and past programs.
A record of the concerts, talks, screenings, and cultural programs supported by JAVCA Foundation.
Archive
Past events
Listed by date, with the program and venue kept close at hand.
October 15, 2026
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
HOPE: Bending Space, Crossing Time
Featured pianists Duo Amal and Victoria Sun.
A Pacific Serenades documentary and concert event at the Zipper Hall, Colburn School.
October 15, 2026
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
Money and the Making of Empire in Ancient China
Competition, Unification and Expansion.
Dr. Chris Kim, Yale University.
Event information ↗August 8, 2026
Sergei Babayan
A solo recital at Christ Church Cathedral.
Presented as part of Vancouver Piano Sessions.
May 7, 2026
Antonio and the Last Wizard
Premiere at the Magic Castle.
February 27, 2026
Haochen Zhang
Van Cliburn Gold Medal-Winning Pianist.
Private recital.
June 13, 2025
Borodin & Nesterov
Featuring the California String Quartet.
At UCLA School of Music.
Get in touch
Let’s continue the conversation.
We welcome your questions, comments, or ideas about the JAVCA Foundation. Reach out about projects, donations, updates, exhibitions, and events.
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