The Rubin Museum of Art, in collaboration with a faculty Humanities Advisory Group – comprising Kerry Lucinda Brown, Isabelle Charleux, Wen-shing Chou, Rob Linrothe, Christian Luczanits, Ariana Maki, Annabella Pitkin, Andrew Quintman, and Gray Tuttle – have recently launched Project Himalayan Art: a three-part initiative that offers comprehensive resources for teaching about Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian art and cultures, with a focus on cross-cultural exchange. This dynamic project serves as a content hub for teaching on Asia across a wide range of disciplines, including history, religion, art, and anthropology. 

The project’s goal is to encourage integration of Tibetan and Himalayan art and culture into liberal arts curricula, expanding their inclusion in Asian Studies courses. The region’s prominent role as a crossroads of cultural exchange between South, Central, and East Asia and a diverse transnational space challenges our understanding of geo-political dynamics. We seek to remedy the underrepresentation of Tibetan and Himalayan culture and the lack of introductory resources for teaching about the region. 

The project features:

• A traveling exhibition to university museums called Gateway to Himalayan Art, highlights a thematic approach for teaching and engagement with objects. The exhibition made its first stop at Lehigh University Art Galleries this spring, and travels next to Boston College in September. It will be traveling to ASIANetwork member, Otterbein University in September 2024. A traveling schedule to 8 schools across the country is organized through 2026.
• A cross-disciplinary publication, Himalayan Art in 108 Objects, is an object-centered introduction to Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian art and material culture from Neolithic to contemporary times, featuring essays from 72 international scholars. 108 significant sites and objects serve as a guide to the historical traditions, rituals, social practices, and art forms of Himalayan art and cultures. Available to pre-order today from the Rubin Museum shop or from Amazon.
• An expansive digital platform featuring content from the accompanying traveling exhibition, all 108 essays from the publication, thematic introductions to aid students in wayfinding, an interactive map, a glossary of hundreds of definitions with audio pronunciations, over 1000 images, and videos of rituals and art-making technologies. The expandable digital platform also features teaching resources for faculty in different disciplines and class units, along with a selected bibliography.