The Padma Organization :: Pasang Tsering, Tibetan Artist

Padma helps to support an inspiring Tibetan refugee artist living in the Katmandu valley. Pasang Tsering escaped from Tibet with his family during the Chinese cultural revolution of the 1960’s. Since the beginning of the Chinese occupation of Tibet over one million Tibetans have been killed, over 6000 monasteries destroyed and countless people imprisoned unjustly. Pasang is one of the lucky Tibetans who was able to escape to Nepal. An artist by nature, he transforms the grief and sorrow of losing his homeland into exquisite and inspiring works of art. The primary materials he uses are 50-100 year old chubas from all corners of Tibet. A chuba is a traditional garment worn by Tibetan women, traditionally hand-woven from Tibetan yak-wool. The color, quality, and varying patterns were the highest fashion in Tibet for centuries. Today, due to the devastated yak population and the abundance of cheap silk alternatives made in Chinese factories, the centuries old tradition of chuba weaving in Tibet is fading with much of the rest of Tibetan culture. Pasang's art works to preserve this rich cultural history.