An art piece from Nepalese artist Bidhata KC, which features discarded tin cans transformed into sacred prayer wheels, and an older prayer wheel from Tibet can be found at the Rubin Museum of Art's collection. The placement of the art pieces create a dialogue between the two objects.

“It really creates this interesting tension between what we may call art, old art and our times and all the issues that artists and creatives are dealing with today,” said Jorrit Britschgi, executive director at the Rubin Museum of Art.

What You Need To Know

  • The Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea explores and celebrates Himalayan art and culture. A new exhibition called "Reimagine: Himalayan Art Now" runs through Oct. 6

  • The exhibition features 32 contemporary artists from the Himalayas, Asia and diaspora, whose work is presented alongside items from The Rubin's collection

  • It's the final exhibition for the Chelsea space as The Rubin transforms into a global museum, focusing on long-term loans from its collection and traveling experiences and exhibitions

A new exhibition at The Rubin in Chelsea called "Reimagine: Himalayan Art Now" features 32 contemporary artists from the Himalayas, Asia and the diaspora from those regions, presented alongside items from The Rubin’s collection of Himalayan art.

“Most of the artists have realized that their artwork is nothing without their culture and tradition and it creates the identity for them,” said Roshan Mishra, museum director and curator at The Taragaon Museum in Nepal.  

The title of the exhibition, "Reimagine," is appropriate, as The Rubin itself is making a transformation. After 20 years, the museum is closing its space on West 17th Street, opting to become what Britschgi calls a global and borderless museum, with long-term loans of items from the collection and traveling experiences and exhibitions.

“We’re really transitioning as an organization entering a lot of partnerships, supporting artists, supporting other organizations and promoting Himalayan art," Britschgi said. "So, there’s a lot to come both for New York, but also across the nation and around the globe.”

Visitors can visit the best of Himalayan art at the space on West 17th Street near Seventh Avenue, alongside work from living, multigenerational artists from around the globe, connected by Himalayan heritage. The final show in the space is a big one taking over all six floors.

“We’ve done smaller interventions like this before, but never this large, never 32 living artists, contributing to a group exhibition,” Michelle Bennett Simorella, director of curatorial administration and collections at The Rubin, said.

Reimagine will be on display at the museum through Oct. 6.