MINNEAPOLIS — Visitors will be transported hundreds of years into the past as they walk through a new exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA).
On Saturday, MIA will unveil the Tibetan Buddhist shrine room, designed to replicate a private household shrine, a space traditionally used for offerings, prayer, and rituals.
Located in the Himalayan Art Galleries, the historical shrine is described as a multi-sensory experience featuring more than 200 new pieces of Buddhist art, donated by Alice Kandell, a New York collector.
MIA officials said the only other art museum in the nation with a shrine like this is the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington D.C.
The MIA's shrine is filled with ornate objects like gilt bronze Buddhist statuary, thangkas (paintings of spiritual realms), ritual implements, painted furniture, and textiles such as carpets, wall hangings, and canopies.
MIA officials said Minneapolis is home to over 5,000 Tibetans, the second-largest population in the U.S. outside of New York City.