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Culture and Cocktails in the Himalayas
Friday nights at the Rubin Museum
Photo: Engaging Digital Tibet
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Next time you want to go out for drinks on a Friday night, get a dose of culture along with your cocktails at the Rubin Museum of Himalayan art.
After 6pm, the museum’s café transforms into the K2 Lounge (named for the second highest mountain on earth, which is reputedly unscaleable) and puts on a party with a full bar and a DJ. Entrance to the galleries is free beginning at 7pm, but get there early to take advantage of the two-for-one cocktail hour at 6pm. After the bartender mixes you one of the K2’s special cocktails (which have names like “Himalayan Hurricane”), snag one of the intimate candle-lit tables and order some Asian-inspired tapas. Then, venture up the winding spiral staircase to check out the collection.
The Rubin exhibits art from the region surrounding the Himalayas, which stretches from Afghanistan and Pakistan all the way to China, and encompasses Mongolia, Siberia, India, and Southeast Asia. The dizzying number of cultures that overlap in this vast expanse can be overwhelming to the uninitiated, but the Rubin does an excellent job of giving visitors a basic grounding with the ongoing What is it? Himalayan Art exhibition. Much of the Buddhist, Hindu, and Bon religious art is highly symbolic, so the explanations provided by detailed placards help immensely. Soon you’ll be playing games with your date (“This one has ten arms and is holding a lotus – is it Avalokitesvara or Yama?”). It’s a bit odd to admire the graceful statues of Hindu goddesses and breathtakingly detailed paintings of bodhisattvas while strains of Jay-Z and Lady Gaga waft up from the lounge below, but the higher you climb up the staircase, the more you feel that you’ve entered another world altogether.
The upper levels are dedicated to rotating exhibitions. Currently on display are Visions of the Cosmos and Remember That You Will Die. A variety of cultural programs also take place on Friday nights, including an alternating music series featuring Harlem in the Himalayas (jazz) and Naked Soul (acoustic singer/songwriters), and film screenings with introductions by prominent intellectuals. On the night I visited, there was also a Talkingstick event, in which professional storytellers wove tales related to the particular pieces of art.
Don’t miss the gallery below the café, which currently hosts Tom Wool’s stunning photos of the remote Rongbuk valley for the In the Shadow of Everest exhibition. Before you leave, be sure to visit the museum shop, which beckons to visitors with a variety of colorful silks, gorgeous jewelry, handmade paper, and stacks of books. Many are imported items crafted by Himalayan artisans.
The Rubin Museum is located at 150 West 17th street. On Fridays after 7pm, the galleries are free. Music events are $18-35 and the film series is free with a $7 bar minimum. For more information, visit www.rmanyc.org or call 212-620-5000.