RTA celebrates successful completion of 3rd phase office building
Her Majesty Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck graced the inauguration of the 3rd phase of the Royal Textile Academy’s office building on the 4th and 5th November. Her Majesty Gyalyum is the Royal Patron and the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Textile Academy. The inauguration was also attended by Dr. Frederik Paulsen who is the principle donor to the RTA. Others including friends of RTA, government officials, international organizations in the country, members of the CSOs attended the inauguration ceremony.
The celebration of the 3rd phase of RTA’s office building included an Opera performance on the 4th November, Dance Drama, exhibition from the National Design and Arts Competition, and exhibition on Beaded Thangkas on the 5th November.
‘La Serva Pardrona’ (The Servant Turned Mistress) was performed by Opera De Lausanne, a renowned Swiss opera house. The opera house which has over more than 140 years of theatre experience was at the RTA for the inauguration ceremony. More than 400 people watched the Opera including invited guests and general public. The opera performance was possible with the support from Dr. Frederik Paulsen.
On the second day, the 5th November, National Design and Arts Competition (NADC) winners were awarded certificates and cash prizes. NDAC is an annual event organised by the RTA, Textile Museum, and VAST to recognize and reward weavers and artisans in the country. It is the 17th year of the annual event this year. Starting last year, RTA was able to expand the competition to include traditional painting and contemporary arts with the generous support from Mr. and Mrs. Alan Bickell. This in total includes 5 categories for National Design and Arts Competition; Gho, Kira, Embroidery, Traditional painting, and contemporary arts. Top three winners from each category were awarded certificates and cash prizes. The first prize winners received Nu. 120,000, second received Nu, 65,000 and the third received Nu. 32,500 in the respective categories.
Her Majesty Gyalyum also inaugurated the two exhibitions; Prize winning pieces from the Annual National Design and Arts Competition and an Exclusive Exhibition on Beaded Thangkas by Mr. Tendar Kunchok from India.
Dance drama based on the much-loved Bhutanese fable ‘The Four Friends’ directed by Ms. Charmi Cheda was performed by Royal Academy of Performing Arts (RAPA). The dance drama on ‘The Four Friends’ exhibited the importance of the four buildings of the RTA. It also emphasized on the values of the RTA; the importance and the need for conservation and promotion of textiles in Bhutan.
Of the planned four phased building, three of them are completed with the completion of third phase this year. The Textile Museum and Weaving Centre were completed in 2005. The upcoming fourth phase will start in about a year. These four phases are the representation of famous four friends ‘Thuenpa Puen-Zhi’. The first phase; Textile Museum is the Rooster/bird, the second; Weaving Centre is the rabbit, the third; office building is the monkey and the upcoming fourth phase is the Elephant. The fourth phase will be conference hall and Cultural Heritage Centre; the biggest from the rest.
The phase 3 includes premium office space, the rental income from which will be utilized to sustain the programs and activities of the Royal Textile Academy.
