New York City Museum Honors Earthquake-Stricken Nepal With Special Installation

NYC Museum Honors Earthquake-Stricken Nepal

When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, staff and curators at New York City's Rubin Museum sprang into action to honor the country's cultural and religious heritage that many feared would be lost in the disaster.

The museum, which collects and exhibits artwork from the cultures of the Himalayas, India and neighboring regions, opened a special installation in its lobby on Monday, displaying 13 works out of the roughly 600 Nepalese objects in its collections. The installation is free and open to the public during museum hours.

The Rubin also went through its galleries and highlighted works from the earthquake-stricken country with the label #HonorNepal, to showcase the pieces' significance in the larger collections.

“By focusing on the Museum’s collection of Nepalese art, we hope to remind visitors of the rich cultural traditions that continue to this day, despite the horrific loss of life and damage to sites of world importance,” Patrick Sears, the Rubin's executive director, said in a press release on the museum's website.

In addition to highlighting individual works, the Rubin is offering guided educational tours on Wednesday and Friday evenings for visitors interested in learning more about Nepalese art. Audio tours are also available, narrated by Nepalese curator Gautama Vajracharya.

For those eager to contribute to relief efforts, the museum also compiled a list of humanitarian organizations working on the ground in Nepal.

“Even though Nepal is far away from New York geographically, our world is increasingly smaller, and we hope this installation, along with the other initiatives happening at the museum, brings our visitors closer to the people of Nepal and honors their dynamic and vibrant culture," Jan Van Alphen, director of exhibitions, collections, and research, told arts and culture outlet Hyperallergic.

Scroll down for a look at several of the works of Nepalese art currently on display at the Rubin Museum:

Bhimarat Chariot Ritual
Rubin Museum of Art
This gilded plaque depicts a special birthday celebration common to the Kathmandu Valley known as the Chariot Ritual. Practiced by both Hindus and Buddhists when an elder reaches the age of 77, the festivities include the elder riding through the city on a chariot accompanied by the performance of various religious services in front of a sacred stupa.
Rato Macchendranath Temple
Rubin Museum of Art
This scroll paintings (paubha), one of the largest in the world, depicts the temple of Rato Macchendranath in the ancient kingdom of Patan in the Kathmandu Valley.
Durga Killing The Buffalo Demon
Rubin Museum of Art
The story of the Hindu goddess Durga assembling the weapons of all the gods and overcoming the demigod Mahisha is represented here at the moment of her victory.
Apsara
Allison Meier/Hyperallergic
Garland-bearing Apsara (17th century, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal), woodCourtesy of Hyperallergic
Ganesha
Allison Meier/Hyperallergic
Ganesha (11th century, Madhya Pradesh, India), sandstoneCourtesy of Hyperallergic
Indra
Rubin Museum of Art
Indra, the Hindu god of gods (1463), gilt copper alloy with inset turquoise and semiprecious stone inlays
Shiva
Rubin Museum of Art
The Terrifying One Shiva Bhairava Nepal (16th century), gilt copper alloy

Before You Go

Prakash Mathema/Getty Images
Sent to The Huffington Post

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