Museum Guided Tours

Look Deeply, Think Deeply, Feel Deeply

Whether on your first visit or your tenth, guided tours at the Rubin Museum of Art are ideal for visitors of all ages to connect with the ideas, cultures and art of Himalayan Asia. Museum tours led by our knowledgeable guides can be designed to reflect a variety of themes based upon your group's interests.

The Rubin Museum offers a variety of private tours for schools, colleges, seniors, alumni groups, organized tour and travel groups and general-interest groups. Our guide program is tailored to each group visit and provides an insightful look into Himalayan art, weaving themes with current exhibitions and provoking discussion. Visitors will leave with the tools to understand and appreciate Himalayan art and heritage. 

Thematic Tour Options for Guided Group Tours ^*new*

Sacred Art & Common Ground: Making Personal Connections with Himalayan Art

Most Himalayan art is designed to demonstrate religious teachings from both Buddhist and Hindu traditions. However, many of these concepts reflect universal themes applicable across cultures. Alongside a museum Guide, explore diverse perspectives and find personal connections within the Rubin Museum’s galleries.

Femininity and Form

Female figures populate many artworks in the Rubin Museum collection. Through a guided tour, become acquainted with the leading ladies of Buddhist and Hindu artworks, while also learning to decipher the various symbols and iconography used to depict female energies in Himalayan art.

Peace and Wrath: The Many Faces of Compassion

Peaceful and wrathful images, however serene or scary, beautiful or bizarre, are created to illustrate everyday human tendencies and energies. With the help of a museum Guide, learn about the symbolic transformation of fierce and gentle depictions in Himalayan art.

Building Blocks of Buddhist Art: Materials & Processes from the Himalayas

Join a museum Guide and uncover the techniques and materials used in creating traditional Himalayan art, from thangka paintings and textiles to hollow cast and repoussé sculptures.

 

The museum welcomes all visitors and offers guided tours and programs to accommodate all audiences, including verbal description and touch tours and American Sign Language–interpreted tours. Visit our accessibility page for more information.

Please call 212.620.5000 x345 or email reservations@rmanyc.org to schedule a group tour.

Tours are generally one hour, but can be modified to accommodate a group’s schedule. Tour guides are $50 per hour plus the cost of individual admission. One guide is assigned to every fifteen people. Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance. Group menus are available from Serai.

The Rubin Museum offers daily public tours of special exhibitions and the permanent collections and associated tours for select programs. For a listing of all our daily public tours, please visit our calendar.

 

Download Reservation Forms for Schools and Colleges:

School Group Visit Registration Form (PDF)

School Group Visit Registration Form (Word)

University Visit Request Form