Tibetan Buddhist Butter-Sculpting Workshop

Schedule

Wednesday, October 18, 2023
6 p.m. Workshop

On the occasion of the exhibition Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits, join the Tibetan Buddhist monks of the Gaden Shartse Monastic College for a special butter sculpture demonstration and workshop.

Learn about tormas, sometimes called "butter sculptures," and how they are used in various Tibetan Buddhist rituals and offerings. During the workshop, the monks will guide participants through making their own tormas, from making the butter dough to sculpting and coloring.

Light refreshments will be provided throughout the evening.

About the Gaden Shartse Monastic College

Gaden Shartse Monastic College is situated amid lush green hills and jungle in the remote countryside of southern India. It was founded in 1969 as an effort to re-establish one of the great monastic traditions of Tibet. A small group of elder monks and fifteen young boys, all of whom had managed to escape the destruction in Tibet, settled on land given to them by the Indian government in Mundgod, Karnataka.

Today, the college is at the forefront of the revival of Tibetan Monastic education with more than 1,600 resident students, teachers, scholars, and spiritual practitioners. More than 70% of the members are between the ages of 10 and 25 and 80% of these were born in Tibet. To this day, young monks arrive at the monastery weekly from Tibet, seeking shelter and education. Due to the success of the academic program and the quality of the teachers at the monastery, Gaden Shartse has established a reputation as being the leader in the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies.

Website

Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits is organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, in partnership with Asia Society Texas. The checklist of works in the exhibition was selected by Dr. John Henry Rice, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Asia Society Texas presentation of the exhibition is curated by Owen Duffy, Nancy C. Allen Curator and Director of Exhibitions, with Rebecca Becerra, Exhibitions Manager and Registrar.

Exhibitions and their related programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, and Leslie and Brad Bucher. Major support comes from The Brown Foundation, Inc., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, The Clayton Fund, Houston Endowment Inc., and Mid-America Arts Alliance. Generous funding also provided by The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, National Endowment for the Arts, and Texas Commission on the Arts. Funding is also provided through contributions from the Exhibitions Patron Circle, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional visual art to Asia Society Texas.

Presenting Sponsors

Nancy C. Allen
Leslie and Brad Bucher
Chinhui Juhn and Edward Allen

Program Sponsors

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.