Mia Unveils Historical Tibetan Shrine Room
Did you know Minneapolis is home to over 5,000 Tibetans, the second largest population in the United States, outside of New York City?
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) unveiled of a new fully installed historical Tibetan shrine room on Saturday, September 14. Located in the Himalayan Art Galleries, the historical Tibetan shrine is a multi-sensory experience featuring more than 200 new pieces of Buddhist art, generously donated by Alice Kandell, a New York collector who made a major gift of Tibetan Buddhist art to the museum. This is the second time Kandell has gifted a significant collection; The Tibetan Buddhist shrine room at The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art was also a gift from Kandell in 2010.
The historical Tibetan shrine room exists as it would have in an aristocratic family home or a small temple in Tibet. Guests will be transported hundreds of years in the past as they walk through the Shrine room and witness an ornate display of objects like gilt bronze Buddhist statuary, thangkas (paintings of spiritual realms), ritual implements, painted furniture and textiles such as carpets, wall hangings and canopies.