Losar Family Day 2024

Swoop into the Year of the Wood Dragon with your family and friends! Celebrate Losar, the Tibetan New Year, with an afternoon of art. Learn about traditional Losar celebrations and this year’s zodiac animal, the powerful and determined Wood Dragon. Then explore the galleries, watch a traditional torma butter sculpture demonstration, and let your creativity go wild!

Create

• Create a colorful design inspired by Himalayan butter sculptures
• Mark the Year of the Wood Dragon by crafting this year’s zodiac animal
• Shed the obstacles and regrets from the past year in an activity to inspire cleansing and renewal
• Design prayer flags with your personal intentions and prayers for the New Year

Join

• Join in the songs of Losar with celebrated Tibetan musicians Namgyal Dolma, Tenzin Kalsang, and Pema Tenzin. The performance will also feature traditional Tibetan dance by Namgyal Dolma’s students from Queens, New York.

Watch 

• Watch an expert torma maker create beautiful butter sculptures. Made from flour and butter, these intricate, colorful ritual offerings are displayed in Tibetan Buddhist shrines 15 days after Losar during Chunga Choepa, the Butter Lamp Festival.

Learn

• Children from YindaYin Coaching in Jackson Heights, Queens, will share the significance of the Losar holiday with a performance in the Rubin’s theater, including traditional songs, dance, and a poetry recitation.

Stay tuned for more exciting additions to our Losar celebration lineup.

About the Performers

Namgyal Dolma studied Tibetan dance and opera at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) from a young age. She became a senior artist and toured extensively with TIPA around the world. She has performed with San Francisco’s Chaksampa Tibetan Dance and Opera Company. She also teaches dance and songs to the children of New York and New Jersey Tibetan communities.

Tenzin Kalsang was born and raised in Dharamsala, India. He entered the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) at a young age and became a senior male artist. Tenzin has toured India, North America, and Europe with TIPA and has made several recordings. He took the lead role in the Chaksampa Tibetan Dance and Opera Company’s performance of Sukyi Nima at Emory University in 2012. He also teaches traditional music to Tibetan children in New York and New Jersey.

Pema Tenzin is a traditional Tibetan artist. He joined the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in 1995 at the age of 11 and has obtained advanced studies from the Institute. Pema has toured around many countries to showcase the rich Tibetan culture, and was with the Institute until 2016. Pema has proficiency in performing a variety of different cultural dances, songs, and operas. To this day, Pema is an active member of Ex Tipa NYNJ and performs on various stages intending to preserve the unique culture and identity of Tibet.

Photos by Filip Wolak

Mandala Lab and Family Sundays are made possible with lead support from the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Barbara Bowman, Fred Eychaner, Noah P. Dorsky, Agnes Gund, The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global, the Estate of Lisina M. Hoch, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Rasika and Girish Reddy, Shelley and Donald Rubin, and Tiger Baron Foundation.

Major support is provided by Bob and Lois Baylis, Sara and Joseph Bedrick, Anne and Albert Chao, Con Edison, Daphne Hoch Cunningham and John Cunningham, Anne E. Delaney, DeWitt Stern, Karen Dorsky, Chris K. Jones, Think Strong Scholarships, Jack Lampl, Max Meehan, Dan Gimbel of NEPC, LLC, The Prospect Hill Foundation, Sarah and Craig Richardson, Basha Frost Rubin and Scott Grinsell, the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, Namita and Arun Saraf, Linda Schejola, Eric and Alexandra Schoenberg, Eileen Caulfield Schwab, Tsherin Sherpa, Jesse Smith and Annice Kenan, Taipei Cultural Center in New York, and New York Life Insurance Company*, and New York Life.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

The Rubin Museum’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. 

We additionally thank the generosity of 223 sponsors and donors who contributed to our 2020 gala, Inside the Mandala: A Virtual Gala.

*”NEW YORK LIFE” and the NEW YORK LIFE Box Logo are trademarks of New York Life Insurance Company. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.