Gateway to Himalayan Art

    Gateway to Himalayan Art
    September 12 – December 7, 2025

    About the Exhibition

    Gateway to Himalayan Art introduces the main forms, concepts, meanings, and religious traditions of Himalayan art with objects from the collection of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, New York. A large multimedia map at the start of the exhibition orients visitors to the greater Himalayan region, which encompasses Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, and Tibetan cultures as well as interrelated Mongolian and Chinese traditions. Gateway to Himalayan Art invites exploration of these diverse cultural spheres through exemplary objects presented in three thematic sections: Symbols and Meanings, Materials and Technologies, and Living Practices. It also includes voices from Himalayan artists and contemporaries, along with connections to related digital content to learn more.   

    The exhibition features sculptures, Tibetan scroll paintings (thangkas), ritual implements, medical instruments, and instructional paintings, as well as a stupa and prayer wheel. The commissioning, creation, and use of such objects are tied to the accumulation of merit, religious advancement, and hopes for wealth, long life, and well-being. Special installations include displays detailing the process of Nepalese lost-wax metal casting and the stages of creating a thangka. A Tibetan shrine cabinet presents how these objects would be displayed in a traditional household shrine.

    Gateway to Himalayan Art is an integral component of the Rubin Museum’s Project Himalayan Art, a three-part initiative that also includes the publication Himalayan Art in 108 Objects and a digital platform. Together they provide introductory resources for learning about and teaching Himalayan art. This traveling exhibition is organized and provided by the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art and curated by Senior Curator of Himalayan Art Elena Pakhoutova.

    A companion exhibition, བཀྲིས་བདེ་ལེགས་ | Tashi Delek, Minnesota!, organized by the Flaten Art Museum will be on view September 12 – October 17 in the nearby Object Study Room. This exhibition offers visitors a glimpse into the public life of Tibetan Minnesotans through photographs and videos, and is curated by Thor Anderson ‘87 and Karil Kucera, Professor of Art and Art History & Asian Studies at St. Olaf, with the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota.

    Programming

    Blessing & Opening Reception 
    Friday, September 12, 5 p.m. Blessing | 5:30-7 p.m. Opening Reception
    Flaten Art Museum, Center for Art and Dance, St. Olaf College 
    All are invited to the 5 p.m. blessing and 5:30 p.m. opening reception for Gateway to Himalayan Art and Tashi Delek, Minnesota! Minneapolis Tibetan dance group Gyalshey Rukhag will perform and monks from the Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery in Minneapolis will offer a ceremony. The opening reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with brief remarks and light refreshments. This event is free and open to the public. Free parking is available for visitors outside Buntrock Commons.

    Avalokiteśvara Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala Residency
    With monks from Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery
    September 30 – October 5
    Groot Gallery, Center for Art and Dance, St. Olaf College

    • Tuesday, September 30—Saturday, October 4. From 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, four Buddhist monks from the Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery in Minneapolis will assemble a sand mandala depicting Avalokiteśvara, the Buddha of Compassion, in Groot Gallery. Visitors are invited to observe the mandala’s creation from the ground level or the overlook on level two. The monks will pause for lunch from approximately 1-2 p.m. each day. 
    • Monday, September 29, 5-6 p.m. Living as a Refugee in Exile and a Buddhist Monk. Our partners at Carleton College welcome visitors to join Geshe Lobsang Jigmey from the Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery. The program will be held at Skinner Memorial Chapel with a complimentary dinner and reception to follow in Severance Great Hall.
    • Tuesday, September 30, 10 a.m. Consecration Ceremony. Observe a 15-minute ceremony as the monks offer prayers and rituals to purify and bless the sand mandala site. 
    • Tuesday, September 30, 5 p.m. Buddhist Meditation Practices. Join Geshe Lobsang Jigmey from the Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery for a presentation on Buddhist Meditation Practices.
    • Sunday, October 5, 2 p.m. Dissolution Ceremony. Observe a ceremony as the monks remove the sand, then join them in a 1-mile walk to Northfield’s Bridge Square to disperse the sand. 
    • Throughout the week, Interfaith Fellows from St. Olaf’s Lutheran Center will host office hours near the sand mandala site from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The fellows are available to provide information about the sand mandala tradition within Tibetan Buddhism and field questions from visitors.  

    Tibetan Medicine: Intersection of Ethics, Philosophy, and Healing
    Lecture with Tenzin Namdul, TMD, PhD
    Tuesday, November 4, 7 p.m.
    Regents Hall for Natural Sciences 150
    Visitors are invited to a lecture with Dr. Tenzin Namdul, University of Minnesota Assistant Professor and Director of the Tibetan Healing Initiative.

    Acknowledgments

    Leadership support for Project Himalayan Art is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.

    From July 1, 2023, through April 2, 2025, Project Himalayan Art was supported, in part, by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

    This project is supported, in part, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-253379-OMS-23.

    This project is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts.

    Lead support is provided by the Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation, Bob and Lois Baylis, Barbara Bowman, the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Noah P. Dorsky, Fred Eychaner, Christopher J. Fussner, the Estate of Lisina M. Hoch, Matt and Ann Nimetz, The Randleigh Foundation Trust, Shelley and Donald Rubin, and Jesse Smith and Annice Kenan.

    Major support is provided by Daphne Hoch Cunningham and John Cunningham, Stephen and Sharon Davies, the Edward & Elizabeth Gardner Foundation, Mimi Gardner Gates, Janet Gardner, Hongwei Li, Max Meehan, the Monimos Foundation, Edward O’Neill, The Prospect Hill Foundation, Sarah and Craig Richardson, Rossi & Rossi, Basha Frost Rubin and Scott Grinsell, the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, Namita and Arun Saraf, Eric and Alexandra Schoenberg, Eileen Caulfield Schwab, UOVO, and Sandy Song Yan, and the Zhiguan Museum of Art.

    Special support is provided by:

    Dr. Bibhakar Sunder Shakya, to honor the memory and legacy of Professor Dina Bangdel, art historian, curator, cultural activist, and educator from Nepal.

    Samphe and Tenzin Lhalungpa, to honor the memory and works of L.P. Lhalungpa, Tibetan scholar, broadcaster, and educator.

    Special support for Gateway to Himalayan Art at the Flaten Art Museum is provided by the Glen Gronlund ’55 and Shirley Beito Gronlund ’56 Annual Exhibition Series at St. Olaf College.

    Additional collaboration and support for Gateway to Himalayan Art at the Flaten Art Museum and related programming is provided by St. Olaf College Ministry, The Lutheran Center at St. Olaf, St. Olaf Wellness Center, Carleton College Asian Studies Program, Carleton College Office of the Chaplain, Carleton College Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program, and the Carleton College Religion Department.

    Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this initiative, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  

    The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.