Image: Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, Staten Island
The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art will mark an unusual double occasion on Aug. 30: the Staten Island museum’s 80 years on the hill, and the 91st birthday of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama. The hybrid program, titled 'Eighty Years on the Hill: Art, Mindfulness & Celebration (Hybrid),' is scheduled for 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the museum’s campus on 338 Lighthouse Avenue and online via Zoom.
According to the museum’s event listing, the afternoon will combine archival material, a tour, a talk on Himalayan art, meditation, and a prayer flag dedication. The museum says archival footage from the Dalai Lama’s 1991 visit will be shown publicly for the first time, alongside a 1988 film narrated by the late Professor Robert Thurman. The event also includes a guided meditation led by His Eminence Gegye Yongyal Tulku Rinpoche and a closing prayer flag dedication outside.
The museum’s calendar describes the program as part of a celebration of the institution’s legacy and notes that the event is hybrid, with both in-person and Zoom attendance available. Admission is listed as a suggested donation of $25 for adults and $10 for students, and the page says no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Limited seating is noted for the in-person program.
The event begins with a special museum tour led by Kathleen Xi, identified on the museum page as a former Board member. That opening segment is described as a walking tour of the museum collections. Brandon Perdomo, identified on the event page as the museum’s newly appointed executive director, is scheduled to offer welcome remarks and introduce the archival footage segment.
The museum’s listing also frames the occasion in terms of the institution’s founding history, stating that the program honors 81 years since the founding of the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art and 79 years since its opening. The organization’s website describes the museum as a hilltop site with buildings designed by founder Jacques Marchais to replicate a Tibetan Buddhist mountain monastery, particularly the Potala at Lhasa, and says its collection consists of several thousand pieces of art primarily from Tibet, Mongolia and northern China dating from the fifteenth century.
A talk by Himalayan art and culture expert Tashi Chodron is scheduled for the middle of the program, with the event page identifying her topic as Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. The museum’s description places that presentation between the archival film segment and the meditation portion, linking the anniversary program to both art history and Buddhist practice.
The page closes with the prayer flag dedication and a collective mantra chant for peace, bringing the program back to the museum’s stated mission of presenting the art, culture and history of Tibet. The event is set for Sunday, Aug. 30, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art in Staten Island.
