Press Release

Oglethorpe University Museum to Display Spiritual Artifacts of the Dalai Lama

ATLANTA- Oglethorpe University Museum (OUM) announces the special return limited engagement of "The Mystical Arts of Tibet: Featuring Personal Sacred Objects of the Dalai Lama." The exhibition will run from Sunday, April 5 through Sunday, June 7, 1998 in honor of the Atlanta visit of the Dalai Lama in May.

The exhibition will feature 30 personal items belonging to the Dalai Lama. Items on display will include tangka scroll paintings, a mantra rosary, a silver vase with auspicious designs and an offering vessel among others. Other items are on loan from the surviving archives of Drepung Loseling Monastery in India, where Tibetan monks fled during the 1959 Chinese invasion. Most of the items in this latter collection date from the 11th to the 15th centuries -- the time of Drepung’s founding.

The 14th Dalai Lam of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and temporal leader of 6 million Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondup on July 6, 1935 in a small village called Takster in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, he was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion.

On March 10, 1959, the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, exploded with a massive demonstration against Beijing’s occupation of eastern Tibet. The demonstrating Tibetans called on the Chinese to leave. When they did not, Tibet reaffirmed its independence. The Dalai Lama escaped to India where he was given political asylum. Some 80,000 Tibetan refugees followed him into exile at the time. In 1989, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Today there are more than 120,000 Tibetan refugees in north India, Nepal, Bhutan and in the West. The Dalai Lama resides in Dharamsala, a small town in north India, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Tibetan culture has been isolated for centuries and only in the last 15-20 years has the outside world seen Tibet’s sacred art. Less than 10 percent of Tibet’s once rich heritage has survived Chinese occupation; therefore, any object predating 1959 is a cultural rarity. According to Tibetan tradition, the spiritual life of the objects in the exhibition becomes more enhanced through use and serves as a thread of spiritual advancement linking the foundations of the past with the present.

The traveling exhibition featuring objects never before seen in the Western world is sponsored by The Loseling Institute, American Seat of Drepung Loseling Monastery, Richard Gere Productions, Oglethorpe University Museum and Swissair. A full-color exhibition catalog, published by Longstreet Press, is available through Oglethorpe University Museum Gift Shop.

Founded as Oglethorpe University Art Gallery in 1984 and expanded in 1993, Oglethorpe University Museum is a nonprofit university museum whose mission is to bring meaningful culture to Atlanta through the exhibition of art that is international, representational, often figurative and spiritual.

Comprised of two spacious galleries, and occupying some 7,000 square feet on the third floor of Lowry Hall and Philip Weltner Library of Oglethorpe University, OUM offers an attractive and pleasant environment for the viewing of elegantly curated exhibits.

Oglethorpe University Museum is easily accessible, offers ample free parking and admits visitors without charge.

For further information about concerts or exhibitions, or to schedule a docent tour, call 404-364-8555.

Museum Hours:

Tuesday through Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.

Thursday: remains open until 7 p.m.

Monday: Closed

Note to Editors: Black and white photos are available upon request. Oglethorpe University Museum director Lloyd Nick and exhibition curator Glen Mullin are available for interviews. For more information, contact Randy Roberson at (404) 364-8447.

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