Dalai Lama Exhibition at Loyola University Museum of Art

Monday, 11 December 2006 10:58

CHICAGO, IL - The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA), along with official sponsor, Exelon, Proud Parent of ComEd, unveils the museum’s latest exhibition, The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama. Set to run through January 15, 2007, this traveling multi-media art exhibition brings together more than 88 well-respected artists representing 30 countries.

“The intent of the show is to both engage and heal,” said Randy Rosenberg, the exhibit’s curator. “One of the central roles of art and the artist is to encourage us to think about the forces that shape our lives.  The power of art invites us to reflect on those forces, and to make the shifts in our perceptions necessary to expand them.  That is also the purpose of each of the works in this exhibition.” 

The exhibition, organized by the Committee of 100 for Tibet (C100) and the Dalai Lama Foundation (DLF), celebrates and explores the many paths to peace. The project seeks to reach thousands of people around the world in an effort to make a lasting contribution to the global dialogue around peace and to inspire individuals on their path toward personal, inner peace.  As part of the project, artists have executed works based on His Holiness and the themes of compassion, peace, harmony, community, people in exile, spirituality, nonviolence, and unity of all things through traditional art disciplines, electronic media, and performance art. 

Artists such as Bill Viola, Mike and Doug Starn, Richard Gere, Sylvie Fleury, El Anatsui, Chuck Close, and a number of other accomplished artists are part of this impressive exhibition.  In addition, all of the exhibit's works have been donated by the artists and will be auctioned to raise funds for the peace initiatives of the DLF and the C100 at the close of the project.  The Dalai Lama, who has met with The Missing Peace organizers on several occasions, supports the project and has loaned a work of art from his personal collection as well. 

“As a museum dedicated to the exploration of the spiritual in art, our mission is affirmed through exhibitions such as The Missing Peace,” said Pamela Ambrose, director of LUMA.  “We congratulate the artists in the exhibition for their generosity of spirit in donating their artwork and acknowledge their commitment to effect social change through their creativity.”

“Exelon is proud to bring the inspirational and thought-provoking exhibit, The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, to Chicago,” said John W. Rowe, chairman, president and CEO of Exelon.  “The central theme of this fine exhibit is that there is more to unite us than divide us.  At Exelon, we encourage both diversity and thoughtful cross-cultural dialogue, so we can cultivate compassion in our own lives and in our communities.”

Following stints at LUMA and the UCLA Fowler Museum (site of the exhibit’s first U.S. stop), The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama will travel to the Rubin Museum of Art in New York (March 3 - September 4, 2007) and other venues, which will soon be announced.

About LUMA

The Loyola University Museum of Art, opened in October 2005, is dedicated to the exploration, promotion, and understanding of art and artistic expression that attempts to illuminate the enduring spiritual questions and concerns of all cultures and societies.  As a museum with an interest in education and educational programming, LUMA reflects the University's Jesuit mission and is dedicated to helping men and women of all creeds explore the roots of their own faith and spiritual quest.  Located at Loyola University Chicago's Water Tower Campus, the museum occupies the main floor (street level), 2nd and 3rd floors of the University's historic Lewis Towers on Chicago's famous Michigan Avenue.  For more information, please visit our Web site at www.LUC.edu/luma.