Media Advisory

Delegation of Tibetan Monks Bring Cultural Tour to HRM

(Tuesday, January 31, 2006)-- Councillor Andrew Younger (East Dartmouth- The Lakes) will officially welcome a delegation of artist monks from Tibet during their visit to HRM next week.

The nine monks, from Drepung Gomang Monastery in India, are trained as sacred artists and have been touring Nova America on a cultural exchange tour since last year.

In addition to planned visits to local schools, art galleries, and other locations, a number of public events will be held during their stay in HRM.

• on Sunday, February 5th and Monday, February 6th, art will be on display from 9:00am until 2:00pm at the Alderney Landing marketplace in Dartmouth

• on Sunday, February 5th, Alderney Landing Theatre will play host to an evening of entertainment that provides fascinating and warm glimpse of the culture of both ancient and modern Tibet through a fast-moving pageant.

• on Monday, February 6th from 5:00pm to 6:30pm, Councillor Younger will host a reception in Halifax Hall (City Hall) to welcome the monks to the city.

The touring exhibition includes spectacular paintings of Buddhist deities and sacred images, ceremonial masks, and other works. All of the art, with the exception of a few rare antique Tibetan works, were created by the visiting monks. The works are available for sale during the tour.

The mission of the ““Sacred Art of the Land of the Snows”” tour is to communicate a message of peace, wisdom, and compassion in troubled times. In addition to introducing the art and culture of Tibet to North America, the tour is an effort to raise funds for food and medical supplies that are necessary to support the nearly 2,000 refugee monks who call the South Indian monastery their home in exile.

Drepung Monastery was founded in 1416 near Lhasa, Tibet. In 1959 before the invasion of Tibet by China, the monastery was home to more than 10,000 monks. Only 100 monks managed to escape with His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he fled Tibet in 1959. The Drepung Gomang monastery was rebuilt in south India where it is now home to 2000 monks. Since the monastery does not turn away anyone, it is now faced with an increasing problem of providing enough food and medicine for all 2000 monks.

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Councillor Andrew Younger
(902) 490-7035

Christian Sheppard
Local Tour Co-ordinator
(902) 476-1727 or 420-9185