In anticipation for the Dalai Lama's visit next week, Louisville is offering several events centered around compassion.
Here are several events open to the public throughout the next week. (Some require tickets.) And here are several more events hosted by the Festival of Faiths, Louisville's annual event celebrating religious diversity.Friday—Ali Center Screens ‘Kundun’The Ali Center will screen Martin Scorsese’s 1997 film “Kundun,” a biography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Friday, May 17. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards. His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s nephew, Kunga Norbu, who is active in the Tibetan Freedom Movement, will give the introduction. The screening is free and begins at 6 p.m.Sunday—Public Talk by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the KFC Yum! CenterThe program begins with a performance from Dick Sisto and Kenny Werner Duo who perform original compositions dedicated to His Holiness and Engaging Compassion. It will be followed by an Engaging Compassion Documentary and followed by Harry Pickens, who will perform an original work. Festival of Faiths interfaith leaders will join His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who will speak on the subject of Engaging Compassion. The official program begins at 12:30 p.m. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. Security could take up to two hours, so show up early. Tickets cost $50 and $100. Monday— Public Teaching by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the KFC Yum! Center The program is a two-part public teaching, "Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment" and is for those wishing to better understand the Buddhist faith. The Tibetan Marketplace and doors open at 6:45 a.m., with reflective live music. The official program begins at 8:45 a.m. Security could take up to two hours, so show up early. Tickets cost $35 and $75.
Monday—Tibetan Freedom Concert featuring Ben SolleeSinger/songwriter and pop cellist Ben Sollee will be joined by Grammy nominee Nawang Khecog for a concert at the Brown Theatre to benefit the Drepung Gomang Institute, Louisville’s Tibetan Center. The Institute is the host organization for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Louisville. Sollee, a Kentucky native, is an acclaimed songwriter and recording artist whose most recent album is “Half-Made Man.” Khechog, a monk for eleven years who studied Buddhist philosophy and meditation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is one of Tibet’s best-known world music composers. Sollee and Khechog will be joined on stage by other Kentucky and Tibetan musicians. Tickets are available through the Kentucky Center (562-0144). The show begins at 8 p.m.Monday-Tuesday—One Million Bones ExhibitThe One Million Bones exhibit opens on the front steps of the Kentucky Center Monday. Clay bones created by members of the community, including participants in the Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach educational program and artist-in-residence Aletia Robey, form a visual protest against genocide and conflict-related humanitarian crises. The original One Million Bones exhibit was created for and will soon be installed on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall to raise awareness of humanitarian struggles in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burma and Somalia. Bones from the Kentucky Center's exhibit will join those in D.C. after the installation closes. Through Wednesday—The Weber Gallery Art GlobeA six-feet-tall revolving globe of the earth featuring 1,500 colored canvas stripes will be on display in the Kentucky Center’s south lobby through next Wednesday. Part of the Weber Gallery’s Striped Show exhibit, the Art Globe was created by children, participants in the Louisville Visual Art Association (LVAA) Open Doors program and people with disabilities. The collage of colored canvas stripes also display icons and images that represent the interests of the individual artists. The exhibit is also part of the Festival of Faiths, which opened Tuesday. Through June 2—Thomas Merton and the Dalai Lama Special Exhibit at Bellarmine University On display at the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University will be a special exhibit of artifacts related to Merton’s 1968 meeting with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. For the first time, with permission of his Trustees, the public will have access to Merton’s hand written personal journal in which he recorded his meetings with the Dalai Lama. The Thomas Merton Center is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Also on display at Bellarmine’s McGrath Art Gallery is the exhibit “A Hidden Wholeness: The Zen Photography of Thomas Merton,” featuring 35 photographs taken by Merton. The McGrath Art Gallery is open daily and the exhibit is on display through June 2.
