USC Pacific Asia Museum presents Gateway to Himalayan Art from the Rubin Museum of Himalyan Art
USC Pacific Asia Museum (USC PAM) will present Gateway to Himalayan Art, a traveling exhibition organized by the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, New York, that introduces the main forms, concepts, meanings and traditions of Himalayan art and cultures. The exhibition features objects from the Rubin Museum’s collection as well as multimedia elements — audio, videos, essays, maps and more — from the Rubin’s educational initiative, Project Himalayan Art, a resource designed to support the inclusion of Tibetan, Himalayan and Inner Asian art and cultures into undergraduate teaching on Asia. The exhibition is on view Oct. 17, 2026, through Jan. 10, 2027.
Gateway to Himalayan Art is complemented at USC PAM by We Are Connected: Highlights from the USC Pacific Asia Museum Himalayan Collection (on view Oct. 17, 2026, through May 2, 2027), curated by USC Professor Sonya S. Lee.
“USC Pacific Asia Museum is where USC meets the world,” said Bethany Montagano, director of USC Museums. “Gateway to Himalayan Art from the Rubin Museum offers an expansive introduction to the region’s rich artistic and cultural traditions, while We Are Connected brings that conversation home to USC PAM through our own collection and the scholarship of USC faculty. Together, these exhibitions connect our university community and Los Angeles audiences with the art, ideas and histories of the Himalayas — and with the ways they continue to resonate today.”
Gateway to Himalayan Art invites visitors to enter the art and cultures of the greater Himalayan region — Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Tibetan — and the interrelated Mongolian and Chinese traditions. Much of Himalayan art is informed by Buddhist, Hindu and Indigenous religions, and images play a prominent role in cultural practices.
The fundamental visual language and meanings of Himalayan art are explored in the exhibition, along with the materials and techniques used, and the purposes for the creation of these objects, often in the context of religious and secular well-being. It also includes voices from Himalayan artists and contemporaries, along with connections to related digital content to learn more.
The exhibition highlights 66 objects dating from the 13th century to 2025, including sculptures, Tibetan scroll paintings (thangkas), ritual implements, medical instruments and instructional paintings, as well as a stupa and prayer wheel. Among the featured installations are in-depth displays that explain the process of Nepalese lost-wax metal casting and the stages of Tibetan thangka painting.
Gateway to Himalayan Art has been traveling to university museums across the United States since 2023. It is an integral component of the Rubin Museum’s Project Himalayan Art, a three-part initiative that also includes the publication Himalayan Art in 108 Objects and a digital platform, a hub for the study of Himalayan art. Together they provide introductory resources for learning about and teaching Himalayan art, with focus on cross-cultural exchange with Tibet at the center, and Buddhism as the thread that connects these diverse cultures.
At USC Pacific Asia Museum: We Are Connected
On view alongside Gateway to Himalayan Art, We Are Connected: Highlights from the USC Pacific Asia Museum Himalayan Collection explores how the peoples of the Himalayas have understood their relationships with one another, the natural world and the spiritual realm through centuries of artistic expression. Drawn from the USC PAM’s substantial Himalayan collection, the exhibition features 42 works, including paintings, sculptures, ritual objects, textiles, photographs and works of decorative art — many on view for the first time in decades — revealing ideas of interconnectedness across Tibetan, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Mongolian and related Indian and Chinese cultural regions. Organized around themes of the cosmos, communal celebration and the connections between humans and animals, the exhibition explores concepts of spiritual transformation, the role of art and ritual in bringing communities together and the presence of mythical and sacred figures such as the snow lion, Garuda and Ganesha in domestic spaces.
“We Are Connected invites us to look beyond individual objects from USC Pacific Asia Museum’s collection and consider the relationships that give them meaning,” Lee said. “The co-presentation with the Rubin’s exhibition offers a unique opportunity to revisit our own collection while exploring new ways to present Himalayan art and cultures to the public through the lens of environmental humanities.”
Related Events
A range of public programs will complement the Himalayan art exhibitions at USC Pacific Asia Museum, including a sand mandala ceremony, a workshop for making prayer flags, public lectures on Tibetan Buddhism and cultures, and more. Visit the USC Pacific Asia Museum site for programming information.
Support
Project Himalayan Art has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-253379-OMS-23.
The publication Himalayan Art in 108 Objects was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Major support for Gateway to Himalayan Art is provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this initiative do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Leadership support is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Lead support is provided by the Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation, Bob and Lois Baylis, Barbara Bowman, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Noah P. Dorsky, Fred Eychaner, Christopher J. Fussner, the Estate of Lisina M. Hoch, Matt and Ann Nimetz, The Randleigh Foundation Trust, Shelley and Donald Rubin, Jesse Smith and Annice Kenan, and Anne and Albert Chao.
Major support is provided by Daphne Hoch Cunningham and John Cunningham, Stephen and Sharon Davies, the Edward & Elizabeth Gardner Foundation, Janet Gardner, Mimi Gardner Gates, Hongwei Li, Max Meehan, the Monimos Foundation, Edward O’Neill, The Prospect Hill Foundation, Sarah and Craig Richardson, Rossi & Rossi, the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, Namita and Arun Saraf, Eric and Alexandra Schoenberg, Eileen Caulfield Schwab, UOVO, Sandy Song Yan and the Zhiguan Museum of Fine Art.
