"Tibetan Culture Beyond the Land of Snows"

Every summer for two weeks, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of the United States, produces the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Attracting between one and two million visitors, the Year 2000 Festival will feature presentations of the living cultural traditions of Tibetan people. Program themes include two annual Tibetan festivals, the Monlam Chenmo (Great Prayer Festival) for world peace and the Shoton (Curd Feast Festival), which includes Lhamo opera and other performing arts. As part of the program, a stupa (Buddhist monument) and gompa (monastery) will be constructed on the Festival site where monks and nuns will make ritual offerings and debate religious topics. Artisans will present a variety of Tibetan crafts including sand mandalas, thangka painting, sculpture, calligraphy, metalwork, and weaving. Tibetan medical practitioners will discuss Tibetan healing and astrology. This will be the largest exhibition of Tibetan culture ever held in the West.

The Conservancy for Tibetan Art & Culture (CTAC) is collaborating with Tibetan communities and Tibet support groups all over the world in conjunction with the Smithsonian to research, curate, and implement the Festival and related programs.