This October, China Institute is partnering with the Museum of Jewish Heritage to present this entertaining, insightful program tied to their exhibition Project Mah Jongg. Learn the history of the beloved game and its significance in Jewish and Chinese traditions with authors and scholars Gregg Swain and Melissa Martens Yaverbaum.

Melissa Martens Yaverbaum is the Executive Director of the Council of American Jewish Museums. Prior to this position, she worked in museums for 25 years, including the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, the Jewish Museum of Maryland, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, and the Newberry Library. Her exhibitions have included those on the poet Emma Lazarus, the song “Hava Nagila,” Jewish department stores, synagogue architecture, Jewish vacation culture, as well as Project Mah Jongg which toured extensively. Her work on Project Mah Jongg brought new research and insights to the meaning of the game for American-Jewish women.

Gregg Swain is a leading authority on Mahjong art and history. She is one of the first people to look at and interpret the images on Mahjong tiles and boxes and has spoken throughout the country about the history of the game and the often cryptic meanings of the images on the tiles. Her books: Mah Jongg The Art of the Game, and Mahjong is for the Birds are the first books to showcase vintage Mahjong sets. Gregg has also consulted with a Redstone Games, leading to the first Mahjong solitaire app to have tile sets based on actual tiles. Much of her research can be found on her blog www.mahjongtreasures.com

For registration link to registration page on the Museum of Jewish Heritage site at:
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Originally found on chinainstitute.org