Established in 1971, the museum, one of few U.S. institutions dedicated to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands, serves the Greater Southern California region.

The museum’s historic building has served as a center for art, culture and learning in Pasadena since its construction in 1924 by pioneering collector and entrepreneur Grace Nicholson (1877-1948) as her residence, galleries, and Treasure House/emporium. Ms. Nicholson’s championing of Asian art early in the century set the tone for much of the Pasadena community’s arts-related activities during the ensuing decades. . In 2013, the museum merged with the University of Southern California to realize academic, scholarly and cultural synergies beneficial to both.

With a collection of 15,000 objects spanning more than four thousand years, the museum organizes and presents exhibitions, performances, lectures, classes, workshops, and festivals, all drawing on the arts and cultures of Asia and the Pacific Islands.