Pem Lham Wins $30,000 Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize
On September 11, 2025, the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art presented the Himalayan Art Prize to Pem Lham, a versatile artist from Bhutan. This $30,000 award, which was established in 2024, aims to support contemporary artists from the Himalayan region. The announcement comes as the museum prepares to permanently close its New York location in 2024 and transition to a decentralized model. Senior curator Elena Pakhoutova commended Pem Lham for her adaptability and her inspirational influence on young girls in Bhutan. Born in Lhuentse in 1997, she skillfully combines traditional Bhutanese art with modern techniques. Michelle Bennett Simorella emphasized the importance of the prize for underrepresented women artists from the Himalayas.
Key facts
- Pem Lham received the Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize, an unrestricted $30,000 award.
- The prize will be presented on 11 September in Thimphu, Bhutan, with Queen Jetsun Pema expected to attend.
- The annual prize launched in 2024, the same year the Rubin Museum closed its New York space and adopted a 'museum without walls' model.
- Pem Lham was born in Lhuentse, Bhutan, in 1997 and studied visual arts at Beaconhouse National University in Lahore, Pakistan.
- Her work merges traditional Bhutanese art with contemporary techniques, exploring memory and identity.
- A recurring motif in her recent work is a female figure fading into a wall, representing domestic expectations on women.
- She will create a mural for Gelephu Mindfulness City and continue working with Vast Bhutan on the Lungta Art Festival.
- Elena Pakhoutova, the museum's senior curator, praised Pem Lham's versatility, skill, and emotional agility.
- Michelle Bennett Simorella, the Rubin's director of global projects and collections, highlighted systemic barriers facing Himalayan women artists.
Entities
Artists
- Pem Lham
- Elena Pakhoutova
- Michelle Bennett Simorella
- Queen Jetsun Pema
- Karma T. Dorji
- Harison Butler
- Ashi Jetsun Pema Wangchuck
- Yeshi Zangpo
- karma T Dorji
- Elena Pakoutova
- Tenzin Gyurmey Dorjee
Institutions
- Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
- Beaconhouse National University
- Voluntary Artists Studio (Vast Bhutan)
- Gelephu Mindfulness City
- Lungta Art Festival
- The Art Newspaper
- Pristine Contemporary Gallery
- Voluntary Artists Studio
- ArtAsiaPacific
- VAST Bhutan
- My Modern Met
- MyBhutan
- VAST Gallery
- RHOM Bhutan
- Rubin Museum
- Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize
- VAST (Voluntary Artists Studio, Thimphu)
- White Canvas Art Competition
- Khadhok – Tibetan Artists' Collective
Locations
- Bhutan
- Thimphu
- Lhuentse
- Pakistan
- Lahore
- New York
- Gelephu
- New Delhi
- India
- Leuk
- Switzerland
- Nepal
- Belgium
- France
- Taiwan
- Delhi