Rubin Museum of Art New York
NEW YORK: The New York based Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) will transform into a “peace lab” on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2 to commemorate International Day of Non-Violence.
According to RMA, a “peace lab” is a place that offers opportunities for observation, practice, and experimentation with actions and ideas of peace. RMA’s peace lab will feature art, crafts, tours, live music, and more ways to experiment with the ways our bodies see, feel, smell, hear, and taste peace in the world around us.
According to Indian Americans, Mahatma Gandhi is being rediscovered in the world and many people globally revere him as one of the greatest moral, political, and peace leaders of the 20th century. Although Mahatma never set foot on America, yet he was on Time magazine covers in 1930, 1931, and 1947; Time Person of the Year in 1930; and was runner-up for Time Person of the Century.
RMA has urged the public to help celebrate the International Day of Non-Violence by creating a personal “Peace Flag” representing “satyagraha” (non-violent resistance), which will be joined with others from around the globe and hung at the Museum on October two. Use words or pictures and medium you like (ink, paint, thread, etc.) on a 1′ x 1′ square of fabric (or paper) to create this Flag, it points out.
Applauding RMA for celebrating Gandhi and his ideals, Rajan Zed, Chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, in a statement in Nevada (USA), urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize exhibitions focusing on Mahatma Gandhi and his works, thus sharing his ideals with the rest of the world.
More or less same sentiment is being shared by prominent Indian Americans here including Madhu Patel, Nand Kapur, Sohan Joshi, Iftekhar Shareef and Harendra Mangrola who would very much want even Chicago Museum of Science and Industry or Field Museum pick up a similar theme and conduct exhibitions.
Prof Ghanshyam Pandey, a Trustee and former chairman of Associations of Indians in America, said that his organization has been celebrating Gandhi Jayanti every year and that this year it would to so in a unique way organizing Youth Talent competition.
RMA is home to a comprehensive collection of art from the Himalayas and surrounding regions. It has over 2,000 works of art including Himalayan paintings, sculpture, textiles, ritual objects, and prints, starting from second century, and draws over 100,000 visitors a year. Donald Rubin is the CEO.
India Post News Service
