Research, Translation, Heritage and Museology
RYI hosted a roundtable and an exploratory session over the weekend during the exhibition. On April 25, the roundtable focused on Research, Translation, and Museology. It brought together scholars, translators, curators, and researchers to reflect on both the challenges and the possibilities of engaging with Himalayan collections through the lenses of museology, translation, and academic research.
The Museology session highlighted a strong and shared need for systematic translation work and sustained research on existing collections. Participants emphasized that many museum holdings remain under-documented or inaccessible due to linguistic barriers, and that meaningful exhibition, preservation, and public engagement depend on closer collaboration with translators and scholars familiar with the cultural and religious contexts of the objects and manuscripts.
The Translation session, led by Löpon Jigme Kunsang Sherpa and Prof. Julia Stenzel, clarified that translation is not a purely technical process but one that requires adaptation to cultural context, audience, and historical moment. The discussion stressed that meaning is often shaped through explanation, pedagogy, and living transmission, and that translators must remain attentive to what can be conveyed textually and what requires contextual framing or oral clarification.
The Research session focused on methodological rigor and collaboration. Prof. Maria Vasylieva emphasized that work with textual and material collections must be precise, collective, and rigorous, particularly in the field of textual criticism, where accuracy and transparency are essential. Prof. Joe Larose drew attention to regional particularities, noting that in some areas (such as parts of Pakistan) living traditions are fading, while in others like in India they are re-emerging or transforming, complicating how collections are studied and interpreted. Prof. Greg Sharkey concluded by foregrounding Newar and Nepali realities, where museums interact directly with living religious traditions, and where preservation and worship are often intertwined through collaborative efforts between institutions and communities.
Overall, the roundtable underscored the necessity of cross-disciplinary collaboration, ethical sensitivity to living traditions, and sustained investment in translation and research in order to work responsibly with Himalayan collections.
On April 26, the Exploratory Session on Heritage and Story Telling with Meena Lama, Sojan Prajapati, Abhishek Singh, and Birat Bajracharya, focused on contemporary approaches to heritage, storytelling, preservation, and in Nepal, highlighting the work of young Nepali practitioners operating at the intersection of tradition, research, and new media.
The discussion revealed the dynamic realities faced by a new generation committed both to continuity and critical renewal. Sojan Prajapati presented his work on storytelling through digital platforms, particularly blogging, as a way to document artisans’ experiences and articulate the philosophical and cultural foundations of Buddhist and Himalayan art. His approach emphasizes narrative as a means of sustaining living transmission beyond objects, markets, or static displays. Art is said is in the mind.
Birat Brajracharya focused on the importance of research-based engagement and cultural guidance, stressing the need for contextual understanding when working with heritage materials. His contribution illustrated how scholarship and community knowledge together can support meaningful preservation practices.
Meena Lama addressed the issue of certification and authenticity in Nepali art, raising critical questions about how heritage is validated, recognized, and protected in contemporary systems. Her intervention highlighted tensions between institutional frameworks and living traditions, particularly in relation to artisans and local communities.
Abhishek Singh emphasized the need to move beyond commercial considerations in the representation and circulation of Buddhist and Himalayan art. Drawing on philosophical and traditional perspectives, he argued that preservation and storytelling must remain grounded in lived practice, ethical responsibility, sustainable living for artist and a deep understanding of the cultural and religious contexts that give art its meaning.
Overall, the panel demonstrated how young Nepali practitioners are actively negotiating preservation and innovation, using storytelling, research, digital media, and philosophical reflection to engage heritage as a living, evolving process rather than a fixed cultural commodity. The idea of offering Newar language course at RYI also came out of this discussion.
