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: