By The Flag Post staff
July 07, 2025
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Presented in collaboration with the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (furhhdl.org) and Khadhok – A Tibetan Artists Collective (khadhok.com), you can now witness the “Dear Kundun” Tibetan Youth Art Exhibition in New Delhi at the Art Gallery, Kamaladevi Complex, India International Centre (https://iicdelhi.in). The exhibition is running from July 5th to 15th, 2025, and the entry is free.
The opening reception was held on July 4th at 6:30 PM, marking the beginning of a special tribute to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama on the occasion of his 90th birthday—a milestone that resonates deeply with Tibetans around the world. This milestone offers a chance not only to celebrate a life devoted to peace and compassion, but also to reflect on the bond shared between His Holiness and generations of Tibetans raised in exile.
Through this exhibition, we embrace art as a space for intergenerational dialogue and cultural continuity. These young voices speak not only through beauty, but through truth—offering glimpses of a community’s longing, gratitude and dreams for the future. As we celebrate their creativity, we also honour the enduring presence of His Holiness in Tibetan life, and the role of art in preserving identity, nurturing resilience and keeping the spirit of Tibet alive.
Project Description : Some connections don’t need explanation – they are felt in the heart. For Tibetan children, the bond with His Holiness the Dalai Lama is one of those rare threads: invisible, enduring and deeply personal. It’s a connection that holds stories of exile, dreams of return and the quiet strength to keep going.
Guided by the spirit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, “Dear Kundun” is a children art exhibition that invited Tibetan children from around the world to share their personal messages to His Holiness -expressions of gratitude, hopes and reflections that go beyond a single moment an speak to a timeless connection.
For this project the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama an Khadhok – A Tibetan Artists’ collective come together with the India International Centre to celebrate this meaningful occasion. With over 700 submissions from children across India, Nepal, Europe, North America, and Australia, the project received an overwhelming response from Tibetan youth eager to pay tribute to His Holiness.
From the pool of artworks, a diverse and well-rounded jury came together to thoughtfully select a global representation of Tibetan young voices for this exhibition. We were honoured to have an inspiring panel: Kailash Chandra Bauddha (Hindi translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama), Sonam Yeshi (a well-established contemporary Tibetan artist), Tenpa Darchuk (an emerging artist whose recent work centers on His Holiness’ life), Tenzin Yeka (representing the Khadhok collective), Tenzin Choenyi (a young upcoming embroidery artist) and Tenzin Tsepak (student representative from Upper Tibetan Children’s Village). Their selections were made with deep care, resulting in a final collection of 90 artworks—each one chosen to mark a year in His Holiness’s 90-year journey.
More than a tribute, this exhibition is a collective act of remembrance, connection, and imagination by a generation in exile.
Curatorial Statement : Through this, a space of imaginative intimacy opened up, where Tibetan children from around the world paused to express what words sometimes cannot. Through colours that spill outside the lines, robes in every possible shade of red, and faces drawn with unmistakable kindness, their hearts speak.
Each artwork is a letter, a blessing and a wish. And as with any letter sent from the heart, we read them all. Slowly, and sometimes more than once. With over 700 drawings—each one was different, each one was honest in its own way. But all of them carried the sincerity of a child speaking from the
heart.
Ninety were chosen. Ninety, to mark His 90th birthday. A small gesture, a freedom so quiet it slips by unnoticed, until it’s taken away. The freedom to speak His name, to celebrate Him and to let children’s admiration take its form without fear. A freedom still out of reach for many children in Tibet. One we must hold gently, and never forget.
