Fall events for ‘Forms of Awakening’

Tenzin Choegyal, YESH, Tenzin Phuntsog, and Palden Weinreb among artists, scholars, musicians, and poets coming to the Tang Teaching Museum in conjunction with the exhibition of Himalayan Art

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (September 12, 2023) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College invites the public to a series of talks, screenings, performances, and more this fall in conjunction with the exhibition Forms of Awakening: Selections from the Jack Shear Collection of Himalayan Art.

Forms of Awakening presents traditional Tibetan objects from the Jack Shear Collection alongside work by contemporary artists of Tibetan heritage. Together, the work reveals how such objects can transform our perceptions and awaken us to aspects of reality unnoticed in our daily lives. The exhibition, which opened August 19, is on view through December 10 and is organized by Benjamin Bogin, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, Skidmore College; Rachel Seligman, Malloy Curator, Tang Teaching Museum; and Ariana Maki, Associate Director of the Tibet Center and Bhutan Initiative at the University of Virginia.

Among the highlights are a two-day symposium with a focus on contemporary poetry and translation with visiting poets and scholars Sonam Tsomo Chashutsang, Lekey Leidecker, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, and Dominique Townsend on Sept. 22–23; concerts by musician and activist Tenzin Choegyal on Oct. 13 and singer-songwriter Techung and singer-artist YESH on Dec. 2; a screening of four films by exhibiting artist Tenzin Phuntsog on Oct. 16; a dialogue between Phuntsog and Mary Kate Donovan, Skidmore College Associate Professor of Spanish and Director of Media and Film Studies, on October 19; and a tour with the exhibition curators and artist Palden Weinreb on Oct. 21.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the Tang Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080 or email tang@skidmore.edu. For the latest information, please visit https://tang.skidmore.edu.

September 22 & 23
Flowers to the River: Tibetan Poetry in Dialogue

Flowers to the River: Tibetan Poetry in Dialogue explores connections between the visual art featured in Forms of Awakening and the work of contemporary Tibetan poets and translators through readings, discussions, a poetry workshop, and a film screening.

  • Friday, September 22, 6 pm: Flowers to the River: Tsering Wangmo Dhompa Poetry Reading: Dhompa, an Assistant Professor of English at Villanova University, will read her poetry.

  • Saturday, September 23, 10 am: Flowers to the River: Reading and Discussion with Tibetan Poets: Poets Sonam Tsomo Chashutsang and Lekey Leidecker will read and discuss their work with Tsering Wangmo Dhompa.

  • Saturday, September 23, noon: Flowers to the River: The Bardo of Translation: Benjamin Bogin, Associate Professor of Asian Studies at Skidmore College, and Dominique Townsend, Associate Professor of Religion at Bard College, will read and discuss their translation of the fourteenth-century text Root Verses on the Six Bardos.

  • Saturday, September 23, 3 pm: Flowers to the River: Poetry Workshop with Tsering Wangmo Dhompa: Dhompa will lead participants in a creative writing workshop in the exhibition Forms of Awakening.

  • Saturday, September 23, 5 pm: Flowers to the River: Jinpa Screening and Poets’ Roundtable: Renowned Tibetan director Pema Tseden’s film Jinpa (2018, Tibet, 87 min., digital), followed by a discussion with poets Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, Sonam Tsomo Chashutsang, and Lekey Leidecker.

Friday, October 13, 3 pm Tenzin Choegyal Solo Acoustic Performance
A special solo acoustic performance by Tibetan artist, composer, activist, musical director, and cultural ambassador Tenzin Choegyal in the exhibition Forms of Awakening. This event precedes his performance with two-time Grammy Award winners the Attacca Quartet at the Arthur Zankel Music Center on Saturday, October 14, at 7:30 pm.

Monday, October 16, 6 pm
Whole Grain Experiments in Film & Video: Four Films by Tenzin Phuntsog

Phuntsog is a Tibetan-American artist living and working between San Francisco and New York and working with film, installation, multi-media, and performance. The screening will feature four of his films made between 2010 and 2023. His work is also on view in Forms of Awakening. The artist will also be on campus for a dialogue on Thursday, October 19.

Thursday, October 19, 7:30 pm
Dunkerley Dialogue with Tenzin Phuntsog & Mary Kate Donovan

Artist Tenzin Phuntsog, whose work is on view in the exhibition Forms of Awakening, will be in conversation with Mary Kate Donovan, Associate Professor of Spanish and Director of Media and Film Studies. Dunkerley Dialogues are made possible by a generous gift from Michele Dunkerley ’80.

Saturday, October 21, 4 pm
Gallery Talk

Join Benjamin Bogin, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, Rachel Seligman, Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Malloy Curator, and Ariana Maki, Associate Director of the Tibet Center and Bhutan Initiative at the University of Virginia, and exhibiting artist Palden Weinreb for a tour of the exhibition.

Saturday, October 21, 5 pm
Fall Opening Reception

Celebrate our fall exhibitions: Forms of Awakening, Hyde Cabinet #22: Sunkist Consumption, Paula Wilson: Toward the Sky’s Back Door, Unset Texts, Elevator Music 47: Xenometok for Mutualism, and Yvette Molina: A Promise to the Leaves.

Thursday, November 16, Noon
Curators’ Tour

With Rachel Seligman, Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Malloy Curator, and Benjamin Bogin, Associate Professor of Asian Studies.

Saturday, December 2, 6 pm
Continuum: Solo Performances by Techung and YESH

Reflecting the pairing of traditional and contemporary visual art in Forms of Awakening, Continuum (རྒྱུད) features solo performances of traditional Tibetan music by Techung and contemporary Tibetan music by YESH.

The exhibition, Forms of Awakening, celebrates a recent shared gift of over sixty Himalayan art works from Jack Shear to The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum, The Williams College Museum of Art, and the Frances Lehman Loeb Center at Vassar College. Works from the gift have been presented in Across Shared Waters: Contemporary Artists in Dialogue with Tibetan Art from the Jack Shear Collection at The Williams College Museum of Art and Mastery and Merit: Tibetan Art from the Jack Shear Collection at the Frances Lehman Loeb Center.

About the Tang Teaching Museum

The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the Tang’s approach has become a model for college and university art museums across the country—with exhibition programs that bring together visual and performing arts with interdisciplinary ideas from history, economics, biology, dance, and physics, to name just a few. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, and a robust publication and touring exhibition program that extends the museum’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s award-winning building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of art and ideas. The Museum is open to the public on Tuesday–Sunday, noon–5pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. https://tang.skidmore.edu

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