Emory University's annual Tibet Week, March 21-26, will feature a full slate of art exhibits, discussions, meditation and other activities that illuminate both the Tibetan tradition and its impact on modern society.
The week's events will be kicked off by the debut of the exhibition "Doorway to an Enlightened World: The Tibetan Shrine from the Alice S. Kandell Collection," which opens Saturday, March 19, at the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
"For 15 years, the annual Tibet Week at Emory has provided an opportunity to celebrate Tibetan culture and Emory's unique relationship to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, as well as to highlight the innovative and vibrant programs in which we collaborate," notes Lobsang Tenzin Negi, the director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership.
The objects in this collection of Tibetan Buddhist art will be displayed within their sacred context, regarded as a "doorway" into a higher world. The Dalai Lama has blessed many of the objects within the shrine. Highlights of the exhibit, which will be on display through Nov. 27, include large, gilt-bronze Buddhas and bodhisattvas dating from the 15th through the 18th centuries; a Mongolian silver Buddha with seashell and coral adornments; a gilded bronze of the goddess Tara with a gem-encrusted crown; and jewelry.
Tibet Week's opening ceremony and shrine consecration is Monday, March 21, at noon and will be conducted by Lobsang Tenzin Negi and the monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery.
The live exhibition of the mandala sand painting begins March 21 at 1 p.m. and continues until 5 p.m., then takes place daily through Friday, March 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Green Tara goddess is the subject of this year's mandala sand painting.
Other events include daily meditation, lectures and panel discussions. The mandala sand painting live exhibition and meditation sessions will take place in the exhibition galleries on Level 3 of the Carlos Museum unless otherwise noted. All other events will be held in the Carlos Museum Reception Hall unless otherwise noted.