A traveling exhibition from the Tibet Museum in India will be on display this weekend from Feb. 20 to 23 at the Tibetan Alliance of Chicago’s community center in Evanston.
Ahead of the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday in July, the free, public exhibition is touring Tibetan diaspora communities in the U.S. this month. Before arriving in Chicago, it was on display in New York, Minneapolis and Madison, including at the University of Wisconsin.
It features historic photos, documentary film screenings, musical instruments and artifacts. Museum staff from India will also be available for discussions during exhibition hours.
The exhibition commemorates the life and legacy of the Dalai Lama and celebrates 2025 as the “Year of Compassion,” said Tenzin Topdhen, director of the Tibet Museum, who is traveling in the U.S. with the show.
It spreads awareness of the Tibetan spiritual leader’s life and “his message of love and compassion and being responsible and ethical in life,” said Topdhen.
This summer, the Dalai Lama’s birthday celebration will kick off on July 6 with weeklong festivities in Tibetan communities across the globe, added Topdhen.
During the exhibition this weekend, the Evanston community center will also sell Tibetan food such as momos (dumplings), dresil (traditional ceremonial sweetened rice) and bhoecha (Tibetan butter tea).
The community center serves about 300 Tibetans and Tibetan Americans living in greater Chicago. It hosts weekly language and arts classes for children, cultural events and holiday celebrations.
The Dalai Lama lives in exile in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala in northern India, which is home to the Tibetan exile government and thousands of Tibetans.
The Tibet Museum, founded in 1998, initially operated from a modest rented space in the Dalai Lama’s temple complex in Dharamsala. Despite its small size, it drew nearly 80,000 visitors each year, according to the museum.
A larger, modern museum was inaugurated in 2022. Its exhibitions spotlight Tibetan culture and history, human rights, Tibet’s environment and more.
The exhibition will be on display at:
Tibetan Alliance of Chicago, 2422 Dempster St., Evanston
Exhibition hours:
Friday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.