Yakpo Collective exists to provide a platform for Tibetan contemporary artists to exhibit their artwork and present their ideas to a growing audience. Through this mission, we want to promote Tibetans taking back control of their narrative, rather than have other media outlets define and misrepresent our community. The Tibetan contemporary art movement is young. However, it has found a unique place in the global art world, with internationally acclaimed artists like Gonkar Gyatso and Tsering Nyandak spearheading the movement. Yakpo Collective hopes to promote a new generation of young upcoming Tibetan artists, whose diverse range of work raises new questions and conversations on how immigration, intersectional identity and generational trauma informs the shared Tibetan experience. Even when exile and immigration has Tibetans now scattered all over the world, the art we exhibit is intended to bring Tibetans together and create new connections through our shared experiences.

Our first exhibition, Tibetan Contemporary Art: The New Wave, was held on July 26th - July 28th, 2019 at the Here Now Space in New York City. It was our first step towards advocating for Tibetan contemporary artists and we are grateful to all who attended and participated. The exhibition would not have been possible without the help and mentor from Paola Vanzo of Here Now Space, a new multidisciplinary space for creation and collaboration. We thank her for supporting this initiative and providing us the most important resource, a safe space to showcase art.

With a great turnout from the community, as well as friends and other supporters, our opening night proved that people are interested in the potential of upcoming Tibetan artists from all backgrounds. Those who attended were able to see artwork they connected and related to through shared experience, as well as engage with new ideas not often expressed in the Tibetan community. The opening reception also included a live performance by musician Sangye Kyap, aka Tedd, a friend of Yakpo Collective who also displayed his skills in culinary arts by preparing the food and drinks for the artist talk on Sunday. The exhibition received overwhelmingly positive feedback from guests, with many excited about seeing the talent of these upcoming artists and happy to see positive, authentic representation of Tibetans. Our primary audience was, like the artists, mostly from the younger Tibetan generation. While Yakpo Collective’s goal is to promote contemporary Tibetan art among the Tibetan community, we still hope to reach as many people as possible in the future, both Tibetans and non-Tibetans of all ages.

Ten artists from all over the world showcased their work at Tibetan Contemporary Art: The New Wave, and each have a unique voice, style, and message in their work:

Tsewang Lhamo is a graphic designer and one of the founders of Yakpo Collective. When asked which artists inspired her, she listed Andy Warhol and Jean Michel-Basquiat, both of who appropriate popular iconography in their art to create nuanced contemporary critique. The obvious pop art influences in her work centers it in a context specific to the Tibetan-American experience.

Kungkyi Tsotsong is a multimedia artist and student at the School of Visual Arts. During the artist talk, she describes veganism as an important part of her identity, and by extension, her art. Her piece Turned Tables critiques animal factory farming in capitalist America, and this unique subject matter inherently challenges expectations of what a Tibetan artist’s work should be about.

Phuntsok Lhagyal is a painter who works with acrylics and oils to create beautiful portraits of traditional Tibetans. When asked about his inspirations during the artist talk, he described his affection for the iconic Tibetan characteristic of flushed red cheeks, which is caused by the high altitudes and harsh ultraviolet sunlight in Tibet.

Tenzing Lhamo Dorjee is a cartoonist, designer, animator, and illustrator based in Seattle, Washington. By illustrating her own personal experiences in an accessible comic format, she wants to create representation for Tibetan-Americans through humor. Her art also explores the dimensions of intersectional Tibetan identities, and she hopes her work will inspire other Tibetans to pursue the arts.

Yangdol Namgyal is a multimedia illustrator, painter, and tattoo artist. She is currently pursuing a career as a Tattoo Artist based in Sikkim, India. Inspired by traditional thangka style of painting, her work reinterprets traditional Tibetan art in a modern context. She is currently working on her first book, a travelogue documenting the beauty of the historical sites of Sikkim in watercolors.

Kunsang Gyatso is a painter based in New York. His work is influenced by both the western abstract tradition and the sacred geometry and motifs of Tibetan Buddhist art. His multi-layered identity as an American immigrant who is ethnically Tibetan, but born and raised in Nepal, informs his art.

Nawang Dathok is a photographer and filmmaker from Toronto. Rather then being based on a personal aesthetic, his photography is rooted in capturing moments of human joy and beauty of life. This sensitive subject makes his work emotionally complex and diverse in composition.

Tenzin Yougyal is an animator and illustrator from New York. His cartoon ink sketches explore life as a Tibetan New Yorker, constantly experiencing the dichotomy between traditional culture and urban modernity.

Tenzing Rabyang is a multimedia artist and mechanical engineer from Toronto, Canada. He is inspired by his desire to preserve Tibetan culture and identity in the face of modernization and immigration. He is also a member of the Snow Lion Club, a group of Tibetans who incorporate their designs into modern streetwear to promote interest in Tibetan culture.

Tenzin Chosank is a multimedia illustrator from Toronto and a member of the Snow Lion Club. He incorporates traditional Tibetan iconography into his eye-catching designs and illustrations with powerful political messages.

All of the work exhibited in Tibetan Contemporary Art: The New Wave highlight a diverse and wide range of visual expression and themes from the Tibetan diaspora. These ten artists together reflect the disparity that arises from migration, resist the homogenization of the Tibetan experience, and create nuanced, multi-layered representations of Tibetan identity for the community and world to see.

We hope to continue working with emerging artists and help share their work to our audience and the young people of our generation.

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