Rubin Museum of Art

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] About RMA

Opened to the public in October 2004, Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) is the premier museum of Himalayan art in the Western world. RMA engages visitors through exhibitions, educational and public programming, and special events that invite a broad range of cultural and historical exploration. RMA maintains an active web-based presence, with its newly-enhanced website (www.rmanyc.org) and through its associated ExploreArt website (www.ExploreArt.org) which invites people to do just that. Through these, and the websites of two affiliated organizations, the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (www.tbrc.org) and the Himalayan Art Website (www.himalayanart.org), the museum is able to reach millions, making the art in its galleries accessible to anyone who wishes to explore.

On view at any one time are numerous exhibitions, drawn from RMA’s permanent collection, with diverse themes which range from female Buddhas to divine madness and flying mystics to the origins of ancient Himalayan religions. The museum also serves as a venue for traveling exhibitions, bringing to New York audiences such critically acclaimed exhibitions as Tibet: Treasures from the Roof of the World; Eternal Presence: Handprints and Footprints in Buddhist Art; I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion; and The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama.

The museum’s collection of over 2,000 works of art includes Himalayan paintings, sculpture, textiles, ritual objects, and prints spanning a period from the 2nd century to the 20th century. The works of art in the collection are drawn from the cultures that touch upon the 1,800 mile arc of mountains that extends from Afghanistan in the northwest to Myanmar (Burma) in the southeast and includes Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, and Bhutan. The larger Himalayan cultural sphere, determined by significant cultural exchange over millennia, includes Iran, India, China, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

RMA offers an array of on- and off-site educational programs, as well as public programs such as talks and discussions, film screenings, live music, dance, poetry and other performances, and art demonstrations. The museum continues to refine a museum-wide access program in order to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities and special needs, language challenges, and at-risk and underserved segments of the population. A visit to RMA is enhanced by the presence of guides in the galleries, American Sign Language interpreted tours for hearing impaired visitors, Visual Imagery/Touch Tours for visual impaired visitors, and a wheel chair-accessible facility. Assistive listening devices and wheelchairs are also provided.

In collaboration with two affiliated organizations – the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (www.tbrc.org) and the Himalayan Art Website (www.himalayanart.org) – RMA continues to design a menu of program options to advance the study of Himalayan arts and present varied aspects of its exhibitions. These partnerships support the museum’s efforts in bridging the gap between scholarly investigation and overall information accessible to the general public.


[edit] Location, Contact Information, and Directions

RMA is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan at 150 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011 212-620-5000

RMA is easily accessible by subway or bus: A, C and E to 14th Street (8th Avenue)
1 to 18th Street (7th Avenue)
1, 2, 3 to 14th Street (7th Avenue)
F and V to 14th Street (6th Avenue)
L to 14th Street (6th Avenue)
N, R, Q, W, 4, 5 and 6 to 14th Street Union Square
B20 bus to corner of 7th Avenue and 17th Street

[edit] See Also


[edit] Related resources and articles

 This New York City-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Art Gallery This article related to an art display, art museum or gallery in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.