ASTORIA — Apply for a chance to participate in an intimate tea ceremony at the Noguchi Museum this spring, where an artist has built a replica of a Japanese tea house in the museum's galleries.
Sculptor Tom Sachs' exhibit, "Tea Ceremony" opened at the museum last week, and is dedicated to the art of chanoyu — which translates to "hot water for tea" — the Japanese tea ceremony.
On select dates through June, Sachs and fellow artist Johnny Fogg will perform the ceremonies at the museum, allowing one or two visitors to take part in each session, organizers said.
"The opportunity to connect with nature, time, and each other — to slow down in a constrained environment designed to sit outside reality, in relative simplicity and silence — is the heart of the experience and the culture," a description of the exhibit says.
Seats to the tea ceremonies will be doled out to museum-goers via a lottery, and those who are interested must register online and are also asked to watch three short films created by Sachs. The winners will be announced at the museum on the day of the event.
In addition to the tea house replica, the exhibit will include a koi pond, a welded bronze sculpture of a bonsai tree, as well as as a number of tea accessories — like bowls, ladles and a whisk — created by Sachs.
The show is the first solo exhibit to be displayed at the Noguchi Museum by an artist other than its namesake, Japanese-American artist and designer Isamu Noguchi.
It's one of several special programs taking place as part of a continuing anniversary celebration for the museum, which turned 30 in 2015.
