Tibet Fest, 2007
SubjectPortrait of
Jampa Tsondue
(Tibetan, born 1959)
SubjectPortrait of
Dadon Dawa Dolma
(Tibetan, born 1968)
SubjectPortrait of
Lakedhen Shingsur
(Tibetan, born 1962)
Date2007
MediumColor negatives; gelatin silver emulsion on acetate
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.236.1-.14
DescriptionPhotograph negatives from TibetFest 2007 at the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, Connecticut.
2015.196.236.1: Image of a Tibetan butter sculpture made by monks, displayed onsite
2015.196.236.2-.6: Images of a Tibetan thangka painting of Green Tara by Jampa Tsondue, in process, displayed onsite
2015.196.236.7-.10: Images of singer Dadon Dawadolma, performing on stage
2015.196.236.11-.14: Images of musicians performing on stage - Lakedhen Shingsur is playing the flute with Cholsum, a Tibetan performing group from New York City.
NotesSubject Note: TibetFest, a volunteer-run annual weekend-long event that celebrated the cultural heritage of Tibet and Tibetans, has been held since 2005. Begun by Michelle Weik of Litchfield who organized the festival along with Tibetans living in Connecticut and New York, TibetFest has been a community-driven, unique, and very popular event. Funds raised are donated to Tibetan causes. The 2018 festival was organized by Students For a Free Tibet, based in New York City, and in 2022 the festival began to be managed by the Tibetan Association of Connecticut. The Festival has presented many renowned Tibetan musicians onstage. Guest speakers give audiences up-to-date information on the situation in Tibet. Audience members and performing artists gather for dance circles. The arts area includes monks creating sand mandalas and butter sculptures, artists showing woodcarving, weaving, and thangka panting – several of them Tibetan artists living in Connecticut, and photography exhibits. New York and New England Tibetan artisans and vendors sell Tibetan art works, books, and jewelry, and food vendors provide Tibetan foods. 2015.196.236.1: Image of a Tibetan butter sculpture made by monks, displayed onsite
2015.196.236.2-.6: Images of a Tibetan thangka painting of Green Tara by Jampa Tsondue, in process, displayed onsite
2015.196.236.7-.10: Images of singer Dadon Dawadolma, performing on stage
2015.196.236.11-.14: Images of musicians performing on stage - Lakedhen Shingsur is playing the flute with Cholsum, a Tibetan performing group from New York City.
Since the Tibetan Resettlement Project brought 21 Tibetans to live in Connecticut in 1992, the state has become home to one of the fastest growing Tibetan communities in the U.S. Several Connecticut Tibetans are traditional artists of great skill who are deeply committed to expressing and passing on Tibetan culture. The story of the Tibetan community in Connecticut shows resilience and commitment to making a home in a new world. These first arrivals were sponsored to live in Old Saybrook, and they quickly found housing, jobs, and a welcome there. Many of them still had spouses, parents, and children back in India and Nepal so they applied for family reunification visas which often took years. The community has thrived and grown rapidly, choosing to remain in this part of the state. Recently the availability of jobs especially in the Asian gaming sections of Connecticut’s two casinos has encouraged many new Tibetan arrivals to settle in Norwich, bringing the community’s population up to about 500. Tibetans gather regularly for community social and ceremonial celebrations in Norwich and Old Saybrook, and they work tirelessly to educate others about the difficult situation faced by Tibetans in Tibet as they fight to protect their centuries-old culture that is threatened by a dominant political and social Chinese presence.
Many of the community’s excellent traditional artists continue a wide variety of art forms as a way to sustain their language and culture and pass their heritage on to their children. Music and dance, featuring flute player Lakedhen Shingsur and dancers both young and old, are part of every Tibetan gathering especially Losar (New Year) and the Dalai Lama's birthday celebration in July. Dadon, a leading singer and composer of popular music in Tibet, was very active in performing in Connecticut and for several large Tibet benefit concerts in New York City. Yeshi Dorjee, a Buddhist monk, lives in Old Saybrook where he offers spiritual support for the community’s ceremonies and teachings. A multi-talented artist, Yeshi creates sand mandalas, butter sculptures, religious paintings, book illustrations, and is a storyteller. Jampa Tsondue paints thangkas, religious images of deities and Buddhist teachings, and has taught his daughter this process. Carpet weavers Tentso Sichoe and Kunga Choekyi participated in CCHAP’s Apprenticeship Program to share and teach their specialized craft and produce new carpets on a loom donated by weaver Tsultim Lama. Tibetan families use these folk arts every day in their homes, especially in the rooms devoted to their Buddhist spiritual practice. Many of these artists as well as other Tibetans from New York and New England participate in TibetFest, an annual gathering in Litchfield County that that began in 2005.
Additional audio, video, and/or photographic materials exist in the CCHAP archive relating to this artist and this event.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
Status
Not on view
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Penpa Tsering
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