"Material Choices: Bast and Leaf Fiber Textiles in Asia and the Pacific," an exhibit at the East-West Center Gallery, launches at 2 p.m. tomorrow with a reception and walk-through with guest curator Roy Hamilton. It's free.

What is bast, you ask? It's a layer of fibers in stems of plants — used in hand-woven cloth. The exhibit, developed by the Fowler Museum at UCLA, continues through March 30.

Gallery hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; noon-4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. The gallery is at John A. Burns Hall, corner of Dole Street and East-West Road. 944-7177.