The Threads that Bind - Exploring Sacred Traditions of Tibet and India

The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art allows the viewers to appreciate traditional Tibetan art in a contextual setting. This exhibition is a part of the "Locating the Sacred Festival."

The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is the oldest example of Himalayan-style architecture in the United States. Designed to resemble a small monastic complex set atop the mountains of Tibet, the museum allows the viewers to appreciate traditional Tibetan art in a contextual setting. The artist Jayanthi Moorthy presents Sacred Writings and Threads, an outdoor installation combining works on canvas, handwritten rolls sourced from the community in New York and sacred threads from temples in India. The writings act as a meditative tool, while tying threads represents the bonding with loved ones. Sacred Writings and Threads will create a space where one can draw strength and courage from our relationship with nature. On Friday, September 14, 2012 at 5pm, the museum presents an accompanying public program with a hands-on mandala workshop, Mandala Dreams, by artist, performer, writer, and educator, Margaret Chase. The workshop will be followed by the world premiere of Mary Whitlock’s short film, Lhasa on the Hudson, on the ways in which Tibetan immigrants retain their cultural traditions in New York. Explore the threads that bind us to nature, religion, and family in this enchanted land on Staten Island.

Exhibition Opening on Friday, September 14, 2012, 5-8pm

Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Sunday: 1-5pm or by appointment

Two years in the making, the Locating the Sacred Festival, a project of the Asian American Arts Alliance, has brought together hundreds of artists, arts workers and cultural activists to create twenty-five events in churches, museums, cultural centers, botanical gardens and theaters across all five boroughs of New York City, exploring the meaning of the word “sacred” and its relevance in their communities.

From an inflatable Buddha on the East River to a flash mob in Washington Square Park, the festival showcases Asian American artists as agents of change, demonstrating the power of art to unleash imagination and break down barriers. Festival Producing Partners include New York University, the Rubin Museum of Art, Queens Botanical Gardens, Poetry Society of America, Church Center for the United Nations and several others. In the wake of the shootings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and as the eleventh anniversary of 9/11 approaches, New Yorkers are reminded that opportunities for greater cultural understanding are never more important. The Asian American community is the fastest growing cultural group in New York, now 13% of the population (one million people), with heritages spanning the Middle East to the Pacific Islands. The festival aims to provide a platform for all New Yorkers to engage deeply with each other on questions of fundamental values and to be inspired to imagine moving towards together as a society.