Tibet House US Exhibit Brings Visitors Inside an Ancient Himalayan Monastery

ALCHI: Visions of Enlightenment -- Monumental Photographs by Peter van Ham Tibet House US Gallery, NYC, April 20 – July 2, 2023

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, March 21, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Tibet House US announces “ALCHI: Visions of Enlightenment: Monumental Photographs by Peter van Ham,” an exhibition running from April 20 to July 2, 2023. Visitors will be immersed in the rich, colorful, complex interior imagery of the world-famous Buddhist monastery of Alchi in Ladakh, India. Compelling iconography follows Buddhist philosophies that aim at enlightening religious experiences. The exhibit offers an astonishing visual experience with lifelike, full-size images within the 2,000 square foot gallery, including continuous prints as large as 16 feet x 78 feet.

Recognizing the urgent need to preserve such cultural heritage treasures for future generations, the explorer, author, photographer, and exhibition curator, Peter van Ham received special permission from His Holiness the Dalai Lama to document Alchi's interior artworks and authorized their publication in his acclaimed book, Alchi: Treasure of the Himalayas. Critical to the successful documentation project was using the most advanced photographic technology, which made it possible to enlarge otherwise inaccessible wall areas. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the exhibit.

Visitors to the Tibet House Gallery will see for themselves what it’s like to explore the main temple of Alchi. Every nuance, every brushstroke as well as every speck of dust and every crack and damage appears clearly in the photographic images, whose minimum size is one meter (3.3 feet) in print resolution -- three times larger than results from regular SLR cameras and ten times larger than those from smartphones.

The 2,000 square foot Gallery is open to the public free of charge and includes a traditional Tibetan shrine room, which is available to visitors for quiet contemplation and meditation.
Guided Gallery tours and access to the permanent collection are available by appointment.

In conjunction with this exhibit, several notable events are scheduled:

Opening Reception -- Thursday, April 20, 6 - 8 pm. To RSVP and obtain tickets, please go to: https://events.thus.org/alchi-exhibition/

Photography Workshop -- Saturday, April 22, from 2 to 4 pm, Peter van Ham will demonstrate how using advanced imaging technology helped to bring to light even those aspects of the temple complex that were hidden to the naked eye. He’ll explain what it was like to work with a camera system that produces unparalleled images while coping with the challenges of cold, dust, high altitude, and darkness. Phase One folks will be on hand to give visitors the opportunity to get up close and try out the equipment he used. For details and tickets, please go to: https://events.thus.org/programs/peter-van-ham-the-challenges-of-high-altitude-documentation-and-photography/

Explorers Club Presentation -- Monday, April 17, from 7 to 9 pm (doors open at 6 pm), Peter will address the Explorers Club with a 90-minute presentation entitled: “Himalayan Wonders Unearthed.” For more information, please see: https://www.explorers.org/calendar-of-events/himalayan-wonders-unearthed/

New Book Presentation -- Friday, April 21, 6 to 8 pm. In collaboration between Rizzoli Books, Tibet House US, and ACC Art Books, Peter will host a new book presentation at The Tibet House gallery-turned-three-dimensional-mandala. “For 35 years I have been researching mandalas and sacred geometry in general as a means to both express spiritual experiences in art and as vehicles to reach such altered states in which spiritual experience becomes possible,” said Peter van Ham. “My new book MANDALA -- In Search of Enlightenment: Sacred Geometry in the World’s Spiritual Arts is the result of this research and spans a cross-culture view around the world, cultures and spiritual traditions.” Please see: https://events.thus.org/programs/mandala-in-search-of-enlightenment-peter-van-ham-in-conversation-with-mathew-r-desantis/

Alchi: Visions of Enlightenment -- Monumental Photographs by Peter van Ham
at Tibet House US Gallery
22 West 15th Street, NYC
April 20 to July 2, 2023
Gallery Hours: 11 – 4 pm Tuesday - Sunday

This exhibit is sponsored by Phase One, F&V Lighting, The Society for the Preservation and Promotion of Asian Heritage (SPAH e.V.), Frankfurt, Germany, and by Ronald and Gabriele Gerns, Frankfurt, Germany.

About Phase One
Phase One A/S is a leading provider of high-end imaging technology commercial photography, cultural heritage digitization, aerial mapping, and industrial inspection. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, and with regional offices in New York, Denver, Cologne, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, Phase One nurtures long-term relationships with customers, technology partners and its global network of distributors, often playing the role of digital imaging partner to customers with special requirements. It is with this passion for service that Phase One continually exceeds customer expectations and drives the imaging industry forward. For more information, please see: http://www.phaseone.com Phase One is a registered trademark of Phase One A/S. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

About Peter van Ham
For 35 years, Peter van Ham has been exploring the Himalayas. Specifically, he has journeyed to regions that had been closed to external access for more than half a decade to research the peoples, environments, and issues across disciplines such as geography, ethnology, archaeology, and art history. Inspired by the tracks of the great Tibetan translator and builder of sanctuaries, Rinchen Zangpo (11th century CE), Peter was the first – and in many places the only person– to document the few surviving temple sites in the Tibetan realm. The temples’ artwork – wall paintings and sculptures – are of great importance, not only for Tibetan culture, but also for the cultures of India, Central and Middle Asia, and people across the world. Supported by H.H. the Dalai Lama, the Archaeological Survey of India and UNESCO, Peter van Ham has shed new light on one of the most remote places of human heritage. https://www.petervanham.com/

About Tibet House US
Tibet House is a not-for-profit educational, spiritual, and cultural institution founded in 1987 at the express request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people.

Tibet House’s fundamental purpose is to preserve and nurture Tibetan culture and philosophy to aid human development, and to foster a global sense of understanding and nonviolence between people of all backgrounds and traditions.

Tibet House is a permanent institution dedicated to supporting Tibet’s displaced and endangered civilization, and to enriching the spiritual potential of all human beings. Tibet House is part of a worldwide network of Tibetan institutions committed to ensuring that the light of the Tibetan spirit never disappears from the face of the earth. For more information, please see: https://thus.org/

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Kathy Madison
MADISON Group PR for Tibet House
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