⁴ᴷ⁶⁰ Walking NYC: The Rubin Museum of Art

September 13, 2024 - 7:20 PM

Walkthrough (without narration) of the Rubin Museum of Art, a museum showcasing Himalayan and Asian artwork in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, one month before its permanent closure. Filmed with Google Pixel 7.

00:00 - First floor and spiral staircase
04:37 - Masterworks: A Journey Through Himalayan Art gallery
16:07 - The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room
18:27 - The Mandala Lab
19:44 - Gateway to Himalayan Art gallery
30:00 - Lukhang Temple Murals

From Wikipedia:
"The Rubin Museum of Art, also known as the Rubin Museum, is dedicated to the collection, display, and preservation of the art and cultures of the Himalayas, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and other regions within Eurasia, with a permanent collection focused particularly on Tibetan art. The museum opened in 2004 at 150 West 17th Street between the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and Seventh Avenue in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It announced the closure of its New York City building in October 2024, to become a virtual museum.

The museum originated from a private collection of Himalayan art which Donald and Shelley Rubin had been assembling since 1974 and which they wanted to display. In 1998, the Rubins paid $22 million for the building that had been occupied by Barneys New York, a designer fashion department store that had filed for bankruptcy. The building was remodeled as a museum by preservation architects Beyer Blinder Belle. The original six-story spiral staircase was left intact to become the center of the 25,000 square feet (2,300 square meters) of exhibition space.

The museum opened on October 2, 2004, and displays more than 1,000 objects including paintings, sculpture, and textiles, as well as ritual objects from the 2nd to the 20th centuries. The new facade on 17th Street and the five floors of galleries were influenced by Tibetan art, and were conceived by New York-based museum architects Celia Imrey and Tim Culbert. Its graphic identity was conceived by graphic designer Milton Glaser.

Due to budgetary cuts, in 2019 the Rubin Museum fired one-quarter of employees, reduced its operating hours, and reduced the number of special exhibitions it hosted every year. The COVID-19 pandemic in New York City further impacted the museum's finances negatively. In early 2024, media sources reported that the Rubin Museum's Manhattan location would close on October 6, 2024. The Rubin Museum would continue to operate without a physical location, loaning out pieces to other institutions while continuing its support and research of Himalayan art around the world."