Exhibition: "Playing with Culture: Traditional Asian Play and Games"

The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw presented this exhibition, curated by Tomasz Madej, from 7 April to 30 September 2018, exploring traditional Asian games and play — from Indian palace courtyards to Japanese monasteries and Mongolian yurts — to introduce Asian culture to Polish audiences, especially children, through play rather than academic framing.

Drawing on Johan Huizinga's idea that "play goes back longer than culture," the show traced how games carry cultural meaning, teach skills, mark rituals and connect generations, citing UNESCO's recognition of traditional games as cultural heritage worth protecting alongside monuments and languages.

Partners included the Kolong Tangga Education and Toy Museum (Yogyakarta), the World Traditional Culture Play Association of South Korea, the Japanese, Philippine and Malaysian embassies in Poland, Poznań's Academy of Physical Education, and the Polish Carrom Association, with patronage from the Polish Committee for UNESCO and several Asian embassies.