UB Art Gallery presents Building Culture: Druk White Lotus School: a sustainable model for education + design

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In conjunction with the upcoming visit by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, the University at Buffalo Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus, will present "Building Cultures: Druk White Lotus School: A Sustainable Model for Education and Design" Sept. 16-23.

For this special event, UB Art Gallery will implement special gallery hours: Sept. 16, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sept. 17, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sept. 18, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sept. 19, noon to 2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.; Sept. 20, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sept. 21, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sept. 22, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sept. 23, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Please note that access to the North Campus and UB Art Gallery will be limited to those with event or campus parking passes on Sept. 19 because of the Dalai Lama's visit.

Curated by Brian Carter, professor and dean of the UB School of Architecture and Planning, this exhibition of drawings, models and photographs documents a new international design award-winning school in Ladakh that is deeply rooted in traditional values and cultures while advancing modern educational concepts. It is located at the northeastern boundary of India -- an area known as Little Tibet, which is set in the high peaks of the Himalayas. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is the Patron of the Drukpa Trust that supports the school.

The Druk White Lotus School was designed by a team of teachers, architects, planners and engineers to provide a new educational community for children in Ladakh. It is planned around a curriculum that has been specially developed to respect traditional Buddhist culture while seeking to advance modern scientific knowledge.

A collaborative team of educators and designers devised integrated plans for a full-service community in a place where the climate is extreme, essential services are limited and both money and materials are scarce. Designers based in London, New York and Tokyo, using sophisticated technology, have not only developed a unique design but also worked with the community to build this new school, which utilizes solar power, recycles water and uses local materials so as to create a facility that is truly sustainable.

Building culture across borders through education is important to UB and this exhibition of the Druk White Lotus School has been created specially to celebrate the visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Buffalo.

The exhibition and the accompanying catalog are made possible by the generous support and collaboration of Arup and Arup Associates, The Drukpa Trust, UB's School of Architecture and Planning, the Center for the Arts and the Office of the Vice Provost for International Education at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

Art from the Land of Compassion

"Building Cultures" is one of five exhibitions hosted by the UB Art Galleries in conjunction with the upcoming visit by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

UB Art Gallery also will host "Mandala Sand Painting: A Sacred Art by the Tibetan Lamas of Drepung Loseling Monastery" and "Tibetan Art from the Rubin Museum of Art."

UB Anderson Gallery, 1 Martha Jackson Place, will host "Rose Mandala -- 3 Jewels" by Chrysanne Stathacos and "Thangka Paintings from Western New York Collections." A series of lectures and programs will be announced.

Visit http://www.ubartgalleries.buffalo.edu for more information.

The UB Art Gallery is funded by the UB College of Arts and Sciences, the Visual Arts Building Fund, the Seymour H. Knox Foundation Fine Arts Fund and the Fine Arts Center Endowment.