Art & Material Culture


TIBETAN CULTURE

The Tibetan Culture website was developed in 2016 under the direction of Gray Tuttle, Leila Hadley Luce Professor of Modern Tibetan Studies, for the primary purpose of archiving and presenting exceptional projects by largely undergraduate students in the Global Core course "Intro to East Asian Civilization: Tibet" at Columbia University.

 

ENGAGING DIGITAL TIBET

Engaging Digital Tibet

Engaging Digital Tibet is a project created by the Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning, working together with Professor Gray Tuttle, to enhance the teaching and learning of Tibetan material history. The site contains an advanced, searchable repository of Tibetan objects, as well as unique features for creating and sharing descriptive annotations about the objects and their significant parts, allowing for a collaborative decoding and description of Tibetan culture itself.

 

 

ONLINE RESOURCES

Project Himalayan Art
Project Himalayan Art is an interdisciplinary resource for learning about Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art and cultures. This three part-initiative—digital platform, publication, and traveling exhibition—is designed to support the inclusion of these cultures into undergraduate teaching on Asia. The project focuses on cross-cultural exchange with Tibet at the center and Buddhism as the thread that connects the diverse cultural regions. This online platform features 108 object-focused essays, introductions to key themes, content from the traveling exhibition, and an interactive map. Supporting multimedia resources provide context to the living ritual, cultural, and art-making practices and traditions of the Himalayas.

Himalayan Art Resources
Online educational resource with over 25,000 images of Tibetan tankas from collections worldwide, searchable by image, data, and lineage, as well as links to other Tibetan art sites. Articles by Tulku Thondup, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Peter Della Santina, David Jackson and Moke Mokotoff supplement the images. Maintained by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation in collaboration with Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center and Wisdom Publications.  An excellent online resource for traditional Tibetan art.

The Huntington Archive
John C. and Susan L. Huntington online photographic archive of Buddhist and Asian art, including more than 30,000 images.

ExploreArt
This website, now hosted by the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, brings an innovative experience to use interactive web technologies and elegant design to experience art and understand its role in expressing the human experience.

Exploring the Mandala
Anything related the Mandala, including many online resouces      

Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Art 
Images and information on the early art and archaeology of the western Himalayas, from the webpage of scholar Christian Luczanits.  

 

MUSEUMS AND ORGANIZATIONS for Art and Material Culture

New York/New Jersey

Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
Built in 1945, the museum building is the earliest Himalayan style architecture in the United States.

Newark Museum, Tibetan Collection Exhibitions
The musuem, located in Newark, New Jersey, has a substantial Tibetan collection, and a Tibetan Buddhist Altar.

Rubin Museum of Art
NYC-based museum of Himalayan art, established in 2004. Website provides access to online resources for the study of Himalayan Art, including Project Himalayan Art, an interdisciplinary resource for learning about Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art and cultures; on online gallery of the museum's Collection; the Educational Interactive Library, a site for exploring thangka and other artistic images by theme, time, and place; and free access to museum publications.

Tibet House US
The website of Tibet House in New York City features images from their Repartriation Collection and current and past exhibitions.

Worldwide

Museum of Contemporary Tibetan Art (Netherlands)
Founded in 2018 by Tibetan artist Tashi Norbu, the MOCTA features contemporary Tibetan art and traditional culture through exhibitions and programs.

National Museum of Bhutan
Museum for Bhutanese history and culture located in Paro, Bhutan. Website features virtual tour of the museum, as well as images of their holdings. 

The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Article about the Central Asian art exhibit at the Hermitage museum, reopened in February 2013.

 

 

GALLERY WEBSITES

The Mechak Center for Contemporary Tibetan Art
Website for the Center not working as of 9/2023, but find an article on the Center and its endeavors here.

Rossi and Rossi, London
Gallery in London that represents a number of contemporary Tibetan artists

Takpa Gallery (Kathmandu)
"Contemporary art gallery committed to supporting artistic voices from Nepal and the Himalayan region in order to bring stories rooted in the region to the fore." 

 

ARTISTS AND COLLECTIVES

A listing of websites of individual artists and art collectives. To makes suggestions for new additions, please email kd2881[at]columbia.edu

Yakpo Collective

Gentsu Gyato / Bin Bai

Jamyang Dorjee Chakrishar

Karma Phuntsok

Kesang Lamdark

Marie-Dolma Chophel

Pekar Monsal

Rabkar Wangchuk

Sodhon

Sonam Dolma Brauen

Tashi Brauen

Tashi Norbu

Tsherin Sherpa

YakmanArt / Kathup Tsering