The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art was founded in 1945 to foster the interest, study and research of the art and culture of Tibet and its surrounding regions. The museum collects and preserves art, ethnographic objects, books, and photographs. The archivers interpret their collection through exhibits, education programs and publications.
The museum itself , a small complex of two fieldstone buildings, was built in 1943 and completed in 1947 by Staten Island resident, Mrs. Jacques Marchais (1887-1948). The main building, designed to resemble a small Himalayan monastery, houses rotating and permanent exhibits. There is also another building on the property that use to be the library of Jacques Marchais, which now contains the Museum gift shop and a small library. The collection consists of about 1,200 pieces of Tibetan Buddhist Art from Tibet, Mongolia, and Northern China, dating from the fifteenth to the early twentieth century. It is highly informative and very intriguing.
The Tibetan Museum is located on the exclusive Lighthouse Hill and is one of the most interesting and serene locations on Staten Island. If you are interested in group meditation; they hold sessions weekly. Check out their website for times and dates. It is even a nice place for a family visit.
Visit the Museum’s official website, here
Kristin Pitanza is an adjunct lecturer at the College of Staten Island and Saint John’s University in which she teaches writing and education. Her dedication lies with her writing and her students. She facilitates a program through Saint John’s University titled $30,000 degrees in which she helps high school students achieve a four year college career path. She is a native Staten Islander and likes writing about her hometown. Kristin also takes a large interest in adolescent development and literacy while helping students develop writing skills through the scaffolding of grammar to written text. She has helped develop department wide curriculum for her writing courses at the college. She has a Masters Degree from the Teachers College at Columbia University.
