KATHMANDU ARTS CENTRE
UK registered charity number 1121118
www.kathmanduarts.org

In October 2007 the Kathmandu Arts Centre (KAC) was established to raise funds to build a world-class arts centre in Nepal.  Founded by Celia Washington and Sangeeta Thapa, and supported by the British Council, it aims to raise revenue and at the same time the profile of Nepal and its artistic tradition through a series of events.The first will be Khula Dhoka / the Open Doors exhibition this autumn (30th October - 8th November).

As part of the artist exchange programme and in aid of Nepalese artistic community the Kathmandu Arts Centre is glad to announce Khula Dhoka / the Open Doors Exhibition an exhibition with 108 artists: 30th October – 8th November 2008 to be held at the Royal Over-Seas League (www.rosl.org.uk) Park Place, St. James Street,   London SW1S 1LR   Tel: +44 (0)20 7408 0214

The exhibition Khula Dhoka will display 108* works (including ten by Nepali artists) which have been generously donated by well known artists such as  Catherine Goodman, Maggi Hambling, Nicola Hicks, Patrick Hughes, Tim Hyman, Andrew Logan and Richard Long. This exhibition, which will take place during Asian Art in London 2008, has been curated in aid of the Kathmandu Arts Centre and will launch the main fund-raising appeal for the charity.
*Why 108? 108 is a sacred number in Hinduism and Buddhism and throughout most of Asia. There are stories, legends and folk tales written and monuments built to 108. Hindus and Buddhists use 108 prayer beads. There are 108 ways in which sorrow and suffering can be removed from the world. 108 ways to show compassion to others and Shrada (faith) is performed by burning butter lamps in sets of 108.

Background to the exhibition
In March 2006, with strikes, curfews and armed policemen on the streets, a major show called “Khula Dhoka” or the Open Doors Exhibition was curated by Sangeeta Thapa in Kathmandu.  Full sized doors were donated and then painted or carved, bringing together artists, poets and musicians from many countries.  The symbolism of the doors flung wide open was to reflect an open mind.  This served as a creative and spiritual exercise in Nepal where labels of caste, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and politics still create profound divisions within its society.  The UK exhibition will be a continuation on this theme.

For further information contact: 

Celia Washington: T: +44 (0)20 7244 9307  
E: celia@kathmanduarts.org; W:   www.kathmanduarts.org

Or click to the following link to download the exhibition press release

Sponsored Dog Walk
on the last day of asian Art in London
8th November 2008

‘Kukur Tihar’ or Dog Day in Nepal is on 8th November this year.  We will be organising an event with 108 dogs and their owners.  The latter will be asked to find sponsorship to join the event.  Half the money will be given to a dog charity in Nepal and half to the KAC fund raising appeal.
In Nepal Tihar is the festival of lights and one of the most dazzling of all Hindu festivals. Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth is worshipped and each house is decorated with lit oil lamps.  The festival is a celebration of life and prosperity and lasts for five days starting from the thirteenth day of the waning moon in October.  Tihar can also be referred to as 'Panchak Yama' which literally means 'the five days of the underworld lord'.  'Yamaraj' is worshipped in different forms over five days.
The second day is called 'Kukur Tihar', dogs’ day.  Legend says that a dog guards yama's gate, which is the entrance to the underworld. (The dog is the steed of the fearful Bhairab, the god of destruction.) On this day a red tika is put on a dog's forehead and a garland of flowers around its neck. After the dog has been worshipped it is given a delicious meal.  
The dog is prayed to so that he will guard the house as he guards the gate of the underworld and to divert destruction away from the home. On the day of ‘Kukur Tihar’ all dogs in Nepal, including stray dogs, are looked on with respect
If you would like to be involved with the event, take part in it or sponsor it, please contact the KAC on admin@kathmanduarts.org

Background to the Kathmandu Arts Centre
Kathmandu Valley has been called “a museum without walls”
The history of Nepal began in and centres on the Kathmandu Valley. For 2,500 years, its inhabitants, the Newars, have created countless masterpieces of Buddhist and Hindu Art. The fame of these extraordinary artists travelled well beyond Nepal into Tibet, Bhutan, India and China. The strategic location of the Kathmandu Valley on the trade route between northern India and Tibet ensured it’s growth and survival. This great flowering of art and ideas ended in 1850 when, under Rana rule, Nepal adopted a policy of deliberate political isolation which lasted until 1952, by which time the surrounding political landscape had changed, leaving Nepal isolated and the trade routes either closed or severely diminished. (1947 saw the creation of India and Pakistan, and in 1950 the People’s Liberation Army entered Tibet, culminating with the Indian-Chinese War of 1962.)

The need for the Kathmandu Arts Centre
Today in Nepal there is a lack of infrastructure for the development and growth of contemporary art and very little help for its artists.  We aim to establish the KAC as a dynamic centre for both Nepalese and international artists with world-class exhibitions, workshops and symposia and an active artist exchange programme. We hope to help Nepal emerge from the cultural isolation of its past and reemerge as an international centre of culture, allowing the world to hear the distinctive voice of a younger generation of artists who have emerged and who have a voice that deserves to be heard. 

The British charity
 In 2006, British artist Celia Washington spent seven months in Nepal as artist in residence at Kathmandu University.  Nepal was in the final months of a ten year civil war and she was deeply impressed by the creativity and determination of a younger generation of artists, despite their poverty and the political instability in Nepal.  Celia initially collected overt 800 art books for the university library, these were sent to Nepal with the help of the British Council. On frequent return visits to Nepal and in discussion with Nepali artists, the idea for the Kathmandu Arts Centre began and developed.  When she met Sangeeta Thapa, director of the Siddhartha Art Gallery in Kathmandu, they realized that they shared a vision.  This culminated in the proposal for the Kathmandu Arts Centre and it being registered as a British charity in October 2007.  This was set up to help raise funds to build the KAC and thereby, in the future, give the Nepali artists the tools and infrastructure to change their own lives. It will not only benefit the local artistic community, but Nepal as a whole, generating much needed revenue and tourism.

KAC CONTACT DETAILS:

Name:          Antonia Bowen-Jones
Email:          antonia@kathmanduarts.org
Web site:     www.kathmanduarts.org
Phone:         +44 (0)20 7244 9307
Mobile:        +44 (0) 7805 662 379

We would be delighted to work with you to create a tailor-made package to suit your requirements, be it entertaining, staff benefits or promotional campaigns.

Please click on the following link to download Kac Sponsorship Proposal