Answers to our most common questions can be found below. If your question isn’t answered here, contact us.
The Rubin is dedicated to promoting Himalayan art and its insights through traveling exhibitions, partnerships, participatory experiences, long-term object loans, research, resources for artists and scholars, and educational initiatives. This work occurs around the world without a centralized physical space.
The Rubin operates as a museum—sharing our collection with an educational mission—and does so through projects, exhibitions, and partnerships locally and globally
Shelley Frost Rubin and Donald Rubin founded the Rubin Museum as a public institution. They are philanthropists and cultural leaders whose initiatives expand public access to the arts. Learn more about the Rubin’s history.
Jorrit Britschgi is the executive director of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, a position he has held since 2017.
No, the Rubin Museum closed the galleries at 150 West 17th Street on October 6, 2024, and transitioned to a decentralized global model. The building no longer has public galleries to visit. The Rubin now focuses on traveling exhibitions, partnerships, long-term loans of objects in the collection, participatory experiences, and educational initiatives to bring more art to more people in more places, without a central physical space.
In New York City you can visit the Rubin Museum Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room at the Brooklyn Museum, where the installation is on view for six years; participate in the Rubin’s weekly Mindfulness Meditation sessions at Insight Meditation Center; attend the annual Rubin Museum Distinguished Lecture in Himalayan Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and see a new public art commission in Queens by IMAGINE (a.k.a. Sneha Shrestha) in partnership with the Department of Transportation Art Program.
The Rubin Museum’s longstanding exhibition Gateway to Himalayan Art is currently traveling to venues across the United States. View the travel schedule.
You can also see objects from the Rubin’s collection at museums across the country. Learn about objects on loan.
To stay up to date on the Rubin’s projects and exhibitions, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media @rubinmuseum.
The Rubin Museum’s collection includes nearly 4,000 objects spanning more than 1,500 years to the present day.
The Rubin Museum’s collection features scroll paintings and sculptures, as well as masks, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, religious implements, and other objects from the greater Himalayan region. Learn more about the collection.
Yes, the Rubin shares the collection with museums and institutions across the globe to facilitate a broader understanding of the arts of Asia. The Rubin’s collection sharing program includes long-term object loans spanning three to five years, which expand access to the collection and enable more people in more places to learn about and experience Himalayan art and cultures.
The Rubin also shares collection objects for short-term special exhibitions, as well as through traveling exhibitions curated by the Rubin, such as Gateway to Himalayan Art and the Rubin Museum Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room
The Rubin welcomes museums and institutions to inquire about object loans by completing the Loan Request Form.
Yes, the Rubin welcomes further study of objects in the collection by researchers. To request research access, complete the Research Request Form.
The Rubin Museum is still an operating public, not-for-profit institution with a collection but no longer has a centralized physical space. The Rubin Museum closed the galleries at 150 West 17th Street on October 6, 2024.
The Rubin now focuses on traveling exhibitions, partnerships, long-term object loans, participatory experiences, research, resources for artists and scholars, and educational initiatives, now with a global approach and without a centralized physical space.
The Rubin closed the galleries in New York City to become a global museum that brings more of the Rubin’s collection of Himalayan art to more people in more places. This new operating model strengthens the representation of Himalayan art in museums and relevant cultural organizations globally and enables more people to experience and learn about Himalayan art and cultures.
By refocusing our resources—including our collection, expertise, and finances—toward this new operating model, the Rubin is on a path toward having a broader impact and greater sustainability for decades to come.
The decision to close the galleries was made with the intention of bringing the Rubin’s collection of Himalayan art to more people in more places. By refocusing our resources—including our collection, expertise, and finances—toward this new operating model, the Rubin is on a path toward having a broader impact for decades to come and greater long-term sustainability.
The Rubin opposes the trafficking of stolen or looted cultural items and has never knowingly acquired objects that are known to have been illicitly traded, smuggled, or stolen. We remain committed to ongoing research of the provenance and ownership history of objects in the collection. The Museum has repatriated objects and fostered dialogue with partners in the greater Himalayan region. Should we—through our efforts in researching and documenting the collection or through inquiries—learn that objects in our care have been documented as stolen or looted, the Museum will address all claims responsibly, which could include the return of the objects to countries of origin. This practice continues in the Rubin’s new chapter as a global museum.
While we’ve made major operational changes, our mission and purpose remain the same: to bring greater understanding and appreciation of Himalayan art to as large and diverse an audience as possible.
Yes, the Rubin Museum remains dedicated to making Himalayan art accessible to New York City residents and visitors. From Manhattan to Brooklyn to Queens, there are a variety of projects and exhibitions available for the public to experience.
To stay up to date on the Rubin’s happenings in New York City, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media @rubinmuseum.
There are many ways to experience the Rubin’s projects and exhibitions in New York City. The Rubin Museum Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room opened at the Brooklyn Museum on June 11, 2025, and will be on view for six years. On September 6, 2025, the Rubin is unveiling a new temporary public art sculpture by Nepalese artist IMAGINE (a.k.a. Sneha Shrestha) in Queens titled About a Living Culture. People can also attend the Rubin’s Mindfulness Meditation program at New York Insight Meditation Center, just twelve blocks from the Rubin’s former Chelsea galleries, or the annual Rubin Museum Distinguished Lecture in Himalayan Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, taking place on October 17, 2025.
To stay up to date on the Rubin’s happenings in New York City, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media @rubinmuseum.
To stay up to date on the Rubin’s happenings in New York City, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media @rubinmuseum.
The Rubin offers two types of grants: Rubin x Research and Rubin x Art Projects.
To stay up to date on the Rubin’s grant opportunities, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media @rubinmuseum.
Rubin research and art project grants are offered once yearly. A committee of Rubin staff and additional experts review proposals.
For Rubin x Research grants, priority is given to projects that will result in publication(s), media projects, and exhibitions, or are part of larger projects with a high degree of visibility.
For Rubin x Art Projects grants, the Museum prioritizes the funding of new artworks and projects that will be accessible to a wide and diverse audience as part of exhibitions or larger projects such as art fairs.
Rubin grant applications are accepted annually during a scheduled application period beginning in the spring.
To learn more about this year’s grant application timeline, visit our Grant Program page.
For questions in relation to Rubin grants, email [email protected].
The Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize (Rubin Art Prize) is an international award for artists who are inspired by traditional Himalayan art forms, techniques, and the meanings and insights they offer. The annual prize honors individuals or collectives who have significantly contributed to the dialogue between Himalayan art and contemporary life. With a $30,000 (USD) unrestricted award—the largest for contemporary artistic practices related to the greater Himalayan region—the Rubin Art Prize both recognizes past contributions and supports future work.
A committee of Rubin staff and additional experts nominate potential recipients, with the Board of Trustees making the final decision. You cannot apply for the Rubin Art Prize.
To request use of an image from the Rubin Museum’s collection, fill out the Image Permission Request Form. Photographic and digital images of objects from the Rubin’s collection can be obtained through the Department of Rights and Reproductions. New images can be created by request.
The Rubin is a public, not-for-profit organization based in New York City, governed with a Board of Trustees, that relies on generous contributions from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government agencies that share a passion for our work. Learn more about how to support the Rubin.
The Rubin Museum is a public, not-for-profit organization based in New York City that relies on public support to carry out our mission. To support our work, you can:
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