It’s been a while. But we’ve been keeping some secrets and it’s finally time to share them with you!

Stories from Taragaon

Roshan’s Reflections

Roshan Mishra is the Director of Taragaon Next, as well as an artist and a curator

As a museum professional and curator at Taragaon Next, I have always been interested in exploring new ways to present art and ideas to the public. The concept of Object in Focus emerged from a moment of inspiration during my visit to the British Museum. I was particularly fascinated by Room 3, where a single historical object was carefully displayed.

It demonstrated how slowing down the viewing process could create a more meaningful engagement with history, material culture, and storytelling.

When I returned to Nepal, I began thinking about how a similar approach could be adapted within the context of Taragaon Next.

Unlike large museums with vast collections of historical artifacts, our institution did not have such objects. Instead of focusing on a historical artifact, why not focus on a contemporary object that carries a powerful artistic and conceptual message?

In 2018, I initiated Object in Focus, a small exhibition format built around a simple but strong curatorial idea: 1 Object, 1 Artist, and 1 Big Idea. As of March 17, 2026, we will have done the 9th edition of Object in Focus, featuring Badal by Sanjeep Maharjan, and I look forward to inviting you to more.

We also have a series of carefully curated exhibitions that continues to expand conversations around art, history, and cultural memory. The upcoming exhibition that I curated, ‘Forms of Abstraction’, highlights how abstraction engages with emotion, spirituality, landscape, and geometry.

Later in June, ‘Return, Resist, Reclaim: Repatriation and Iconoclasm in South Asia’, curated by Dr. Arshiya Lokhandwala, brings together critical perspectives on the ongoing struggles surrounding displaced heritage, iconoclasm, and the complex journeys of cultural objects across South Asia.

On April 2, 2014, we opened our doors to the public as ‘Taragaon Museum’. Now, on the 12th Anniversary of Taragaon Next, I invite you to join us for the opening of “Forms of Abstraction”.

Kripendra’s Korner

Kripendra Amatya is the Arts and Program Manager at Taragaon Next

Taragaon serves as the home of a variety of contemporary arts, intended to connect with a wide range of people. We encourage collaboration so we can do new creative activities.

I want to create a vibrant hub where people come to watch movies and discuss the films. We have now developed a collaboration with the British Council and Alliance Francaise to host a film night on the last Friday of every English month.

We’re also collaborating with Shabrakiri, a literature platform, that hosts a poetry saajh on the first Saturday of every Nepali month. I personally think the most powerful factor of Shabdakiri is the dedication of their team which has continued growing and connecting people in bringing them closer to literature.

Squirrel and Foxes is the first program that changed Taragaon from just becoming an exhibiting space into more dynamic activities hoping to bring young folks, may it be music, dance, storytelling, or stand-up comedy. This event, that happens 3 times a year, makes Taragaon vibrant and energetic.

Human beings first learn how to draw by doodling as children. Children don’t plan too much and just draw/doodle. Hoping to create a space where people allow their inner child to be free, we now host Doodle at Taragaon monthly.

When I visited Srijana College of Fine Arts’ Project Panauti-2025 section; the entire work of the group of students of Project Panauti felt like it was directly linked with the working areas of Taragaon Next namely- culture, community, and urbanization.

After talking with the teacher of Srijana, we decided to ignite a collaboration between Srijana College of Fine Arts and Taragaon Next.

Even while planning the exhibition, alongside the talk program, video screening, the workshop felt like various elements Taragaon had been hosting. It was a project that I felt so strongly resonated with Taragaon.

Discussions with Diki

Diki Sherpa is the HR and Administration Manager at Taragaon Next

Before working at Taragaon Next, I visited the area and learned from a friend about the Taragaon Museum near Boudhanath Stupa. I was surprised to find it within the Tara Hotel area, which I remembered from my childhood. The museum’s unique architecture and tranquil environment captivated me, making it a perfect place to relax. For me, the most exciting aspects of Taragaon are its atmosphere and the stunning architecture.

When I first started working here, the space had very few visitors and did not operate on a ticketing system.

At that time, TikTok was going viral in Nepal, and visitors started posting videos of the space, which significantly increased our visibility to those unfamiliar about us.

We decided to introduce a ticketing system, which helped generate revenue for the space. Additionally, we launched a permanent exhibition titled “Archiving for the Future.”

Prior to implementing the ticketing system, revenue was largely derived from external programs, photoshoots, and café rentals.

Thanks to TikTok, more people began visiting, leading to a substantial increase in revenue for the Taragaon Museum. Our visitor numbers have also stayed consistent, ranging between 40,000 - 80,000 per year in the 3 years I have worked here.

I have witnessed the transformation of our space from a museum into a more vibrant hub. We’ve shifted our focus beyond just art and culture to embrace community, culture, and urbanization.

Previously, we hosted a greater number of external events and exhibitions, totaling 15 to 20 annually, while internal events and exhibitions numbered between 5 and 7.

Because we are able to generate revenue, we host only 6 to 8 external events/exhibitions each year, but our internal programs have surged to 30 to 35 annually, including collaborations with various artists.

We have created our own programs to better support and provide more opportunities for artists and students interested in art, skills, culture, and history.

Creative Learning with Dipesh

Dipesh Khanal is the Creative Learning Officer at Taragaon Next

In this era of the digital world, there’s no denying that, like adults, young kids are strongly attached to social media and e-gaming.

That’s where the Creative Learning Programs come into play where we encourage young learners to spend more time with art and nature around us, giving them an experiential learning experience.

In a span of two months from Jan 2026 to Feb 2026, a total of 332 students from 8 different schools participated in Taragaon’s Creative Learning Programs and this time around - specially to experience the guided tour of the exhibition, Metamorphosis. The exhibition displayed 20 different artworks created out of waste metals and plastic by artist Saurab Koirala.

Koirala talked about the importance of taking safety precautions specifically while working with waste metal as they are sharp and prone to injury – while wielding and connecting the metal parts together.

We provided examples of the ways students have themselves been practicing the concept of reusing where they are carrying bottles everyday to school instead of using non-reusable plastic bottles.

We also conducted activities relating to the exhibition where they were distributed tags with the names and the description of every creature written on them. The learners picked up the tags that best resonated with their own personality and shared interesting reasons as to why they chose the one they did.

‘I chose crab because it knows how to protect itself at times of danger. It also hides and comes out of its shell when it feels safe enough,’ shared one of the students who participated in the activity.

After the tour was over, we received some personalized thoughtful notes and presents from the students of one of the schools.

‘Thank you so much for the inspiring tours! We learned a lot and we would love to come back for another visit!’ wrote one of the students and another student wrote, ‘I am really happy I got visit this cool place I really like the visit as recycle animals, and art are my fav thing and you where really kind people.’

To be able to host this many students from different schools was truly inspiring not just for students but for me myself leading Creative Learning Programs at Taragaon. I cannot reiterate enough the significance of exposing students outside their school’s rigid curriculum and letting them truly explore.

Namita Saraf, the co-founder of the Saraf Foundation and the director of Taragaon Next, has been working tirelessly to help make Taragaon Next a space where art is explorative, accessible and interactive.

“Taragaon Next has evolved a lot in the last few years and we will continue to grow, learn and do the best that we can for the art community. We really have taken the next step into making art accessible in both traditional and contemporary ways while also encouraging different artforms to experiment in our space. With the inclusion of theatre plays, musical events, talks, open mics and more, we are opening up the space for exploration for everyone. We have workshops where you can learn from experts, a cafe where you can relax and a team constantly trying to build up engagement in the space.With the addition of curated exhibitions, we are pushing ourselves to new heights.”

Dr. Arshiya Lokhandwala, a curator based in Mumbai, has been collaborating with the Saraf Foundation to curate three exhibitions at Taragaon Next this year. Having two exhibitions at our space under her belt, her next exhibition, “Return, Resist, Reclaim: Repatriation and Iconoclasm in South Asia“ is in the planning phase.

“Curating at Taragaon Museum has always felt profoundly different from my experiences in other institutional contexts. Unlike the white cube, Taragaon is inseparable from its setting. Designed in the 1970s by Austrian architect Carl Pruscha as a living and working space for artists, anthropologists, and scholars, curating at Taragaon is never simply exhibition-making—it becomes a civic practice, one that invites audiences not just to look but to educate and participate in unfolding critical issues.

My first exhibition here, Feminist Futures: Art, Activism, and South Asian Womanhood (2025), fulfilled a long-standing desire to work with feminist issues in Nepal. Bringing together ten artists from across South Asia, the exhibition examined how patriarchy, colonialism, and religious traditions shape women’s lives.

This was followed by At the Tipping Point: Art and Ecology from the Rooftop of the World, which engaged Nepal’s fragile ecologies. By foregrounding glacial retreat, biodiversity loss, and climate precarity, the show reframed the Himalayas—too often romanticized as timeless landscapes—as a frontline of planetary crisis.

The upcoming Return, Resist, Reclaim: Repatriation and Iconoclasm in South Asia confronts another urgent issue: the widespread theft of gods, manuscripts, and ritual objects. By interrogating how sacred objects are displaced, reclassified, and aestheticized under glass vitrines in Western museums, the exhibition exposes the afterlives of colonial violence and the urgent call for restitution and the afterlives of empire.

In continuity with my wider curatorial practice across India and globally, Taragaon has offered me not only a site but a spirit— with Nepal as an epicenter, a place in which significant and critical conversations can begin and be shared with the rest of the world.”

Visit our Curatorial Page

Stories from Taragaon

Kripendra’s Korner

Kripendra Amatya is the Arts and Program Manager at Taragaon Next.

Taragaon Next, to me, is a contemporary art space where anyone can engage with art in multiple ways, be it through our archive, contemporary art exhibits or performances in Nepal. The space intends to keep improving itself by engaging visitors through workshops, exhibitions, events, and activities.

One of the many ways we do that is via one of our flagship programs: Artist in Studio. It focuses on young, promising artists, and has been set in place to support them, hoping to provide a good foundation through mentoring sessions, and culminating it into an art exhibition. The last Artist in Studio #8: Manu Kumar Chaudhary, exhibited his print-making works about his Tharu roots, which helped regular visitors to be able to understand the history, myth, and culture of the Tharu community.

Object in Focus, which emphasizes ‘one big idea, one narrative’, focusing on a single object for the exhibition, is another one of our flagship events. The latest Object in Focus #8 was about Tibetan Buddhist philosopher, Guru Milarepa, painted by renowned artist Mukesh Shrestha, which highlighted the journey of Milarepa, his teachers and his students.

One of the latest Taragaon Talk programs, ‘Lipi Learning an Effort to Revive and Revitalize’, was intended to provide a clear and deeper understanding of the Ranjana Lipi, as the program was conducted hoping to promote culture, language and community.

We have musical events called ‘Serenade Sessions’ hosted by Live Assist as well as the play ‘The List’ directed by Anurag Upadhyaya put on here at Taragaon as a way to expand the artforms we support. By slowly expanding our reach to support all forms of art prevalent in Kathmandu, Taragaon Next is becoming an urban oasis for art.

Our Events Page

Creative Learning with Dipesh

Dipesh Khanal is the Creative Learning Officer at Taragaon Next.

As someone looking after Creative Learning at Taragaon, leading guided tours on diverse themes—such as culture, heritage, ecology, feminist ideologies, etc. has been an amazing experience. I find myself learning something new each time; like an artist’s technique, perspective, and the intention behind their art—while at the same time learning about different interpretations and opinions from visitors and students.

When I lead tours, my aim is to make them not only educational but also fun and interactive. Art shouldn’t just be something you look at—it should make you think, question, and connect.

“I never knew that there are this many artworks from which we can learn so much about diverse topics like our planet Earth, birds, and natural resources like soil and ice. I want to come back again and visit with my friends and family,” shared one of the students who visited the exhibition At the Tipping Point: Art and Ecology from the Rooftop of the World. (Sign up for our free guided tour here).

In connection with our ongoing exhibition At the Tipping Point, we held a Terrarium Workshop on July 19. Participants learned about environmental preservation while creating their own mini-ecosystems—a fun and engaging way to understand ecology and the importance of sustainable living. We’ve also held a nature drumming session, a printmaking workshop and a sparrow whistle making workshop, all tied to our exhibition, which help to explore ecological crises in different ways.

With our new exhibition coming up in October, we’re already planning on how to engage you, our visitors. So—are you ready to explore, learn, and experience art in a whole new light?

Visit the Creative Learning Page

Archiving with Devina

Devina Joshi is the archivist at the Nepal Architecture Archive (NAA).

The Nepal Architecture Archive (NAA), formally set up in 2016 by the Saraf Foundation, is a growing collection of research on Nepal’s built heritage. We have materials going back to the later half of the 20th century—architectural drawings, photographs, slides, negatives, maps, diaries, unpublished reports, books, even beta tapes and digital files.

A gem in our collection that I want to highlight is the original restoration drawing of the Kasthamandap temple by Wolfgang Korn. The temple collapsed during the 2015 earthquake, and this drawing feels like an important reference on the construction and revival of the temple. There is also a fascinating set of photographs of Bungamati from 1968, taken by Danish architecture students. Through those black-and-white frames, you get to see a Nepal many of us have never seen before, all of which are currently on display at Taragaon Next.

Every photograph, sketch, or manuscript has people, places, and thought processes behind it. I think we’re like memory keepers. We take care of the past so that, when the time comes, we can bring that memory back into conversation with the present. This role is about learning, connecting, and rediscovering parts of our cultural identity that many of us may have forgotten—or maybe never even knew existed.

Visit the NAA Website

moware at Taragaon Next

moware (Mountain Waste Repurposed) is a design shop that uses waste as raw materials to create meaningful products.

The women-led organization journey started in 2013 to implement a design-led intervention to the waste challenge in Nepal. All products are carefully handcrafted by artisans at moware lab, by upcycling glass and plastic from the hiking trails in the Himalayas and Kathmandu Valley.

As an homage to the space it’s hosted in, the moware shop has created two products out of recycled plastic: the Dachi earrings and the Pruscha necklace, named after traditional "dachi appa" bricks that were used to build Taragaon, and the architect Carl Pruscha who designed the building, respectively.

Purchase the Taragaon Set

Giveaway at Taragaon Next!

We have QR codes set up in each building that you can scan to open the quizzes we have created based on a specific artwork for our exhibition, At the Tipping Point. We also have crossword puzzles for you to try out as you roam look at the artwork which you can submit to our office. Enjoy the exhibition and answer the questions so you can be considered for our weekly lucky draw!