Tashi Norbu fled from Tibet at a young age and ended up in the Netherlands, where he opened a museum for Tibetan art in the Emmer Rensenpark eight years ago. He does not sit still: he travels all over the world in the name of his art and his Buddhist faith. He has now opened a second museum at the end of August: in Santa Barbara, a suburb of Los Angeles.
It’s Monday morning. Tashi Norbu walks into the Rensenpark, in the traditional yellow -red robes of a Buddhist monk. Yet his outfit has a modern touch: two modern sneakers and a shoulder bag, both bright pink, stand out all the more for that reason.
Norbu is anything but not. “It is a year since I was last in Emmen,” he laughs at his museum upon entering his museum. Loyal volunteers kept their doors open, while Norbu was traveling. And in the past period he could be found a lot in the United States.
With a big smile he announces the news: his Museum of Contemporary Tibetan Art has had a second branch since 30 August, in Santa Barbara, near Los Angeles. He had been looking for a second basis for a while, he says. “I have been traveling up and down to America for fifteen years, I have had exhibitions in more than thirteen museums and art centers worldwide. Santa Barbara immediately felt the right place.”
The location, located between the Pacific and the Bergen, was not chosen by chance. It is a magical place, as he describes his second location. “Many people in California are looking for spirituality, art and deepening. And yes, celebrities like Prince Harry live in the area. I hope he will ever come by,” says Norbu with a wink.
As mentioned, America was not chosen by chance. “What happens in Los Angeles of New York, the world sees. America is the media center of the world. When I organize something there, the worldwide attention will get.”
That does not mean that he will leave Emmen behind. “Emmen is my basis. My ‘Basecamp’,” he emphasizes. “From here I plan everything: my journeys, exhibitions, spiritual matters. Emmen offers the right ingredients and the space to grow, just like a lotus.”
Although at first glance Emmen does not seem the most obvious place for an international museum, it was the perfect place for a museum for Norbu. Previously he was active from Amsterdam and Zaandam. The museum is officially recognized in the Netherlands and was the first Tibetan museum that was registered outside of Tibet.
Although he moves a lot towards America, Europe and Asia, there is a country where he cannot go: his home country Tibet. “I have never seen the land of my ancestors,” he says. “My parents were refugees. As a result, Norbu largely grew up in a refugee camp. He can summarize existence in the camp with a word: survival. Curfing for food and water every day.
His home country falls politically and administratively under China, but Norbu sees it as its own independent country. “Everything I do comes from the desire to keep our culture alive. Against the background of oppression by China, I try to show the world that Tibet exists, that our Buddhist culture is alive and kicking. But until that time he is ‘politically undesirable’ for China.” That is painful. But I know: this is my path. “