CURATED NEWS DECEMBER 2025
Curated news is a bi-annual newsletter showcasing ideas, initiatives and practices from around the world and here in Ritoma. Bringing insight, connection and nourishment.
INSIGHT
Delve into ancient futures, research and stories on traditions of co-operation and intimate location-specific knowledge in Ladakh, and how Ladakhi people are protecting their culture and environment from the effects of rapid modernisation.
Trace how Claudia Andujar’s work is more than just art, in this piece surveying the Brazil-based artist-activist’s documentation of the indigenous Yanomami of the Amazon and their fight for human rights.
Discover transforming processes of making into rituals and ecological awareness in Adrian Pepe’s The First Red, using ancient Awassi wool, reflecting on notions of way-finding, cosmologies and origin narratives.
Left: Adrian Pepe works with felt and Red Ochre, the oldest known pigment that continues to be used by shepherds to mark and identify their animals. Right: A photograph from Claudia Andujar's work spanning 50 years devoted to photographing and defending the Yanomami, one of Brazil’s largest indigenous peoples.
CONNECT
Immerse yourself in over 150 sounds of pre-Columbian artefacts and musical instruments from the Americas, catalogued by The Museum of Pre-Columbian Art in Santiago.
Explore the Tatter Blue Library, an online and physical space that seeks to preserve, interpret, and present global textile knowledge and artistry across time in an effort to cultivate cross-cultural and intergenerational understanding.
Survey the Sao Paulo homes of Chu Ming Silveira, the Asian Brazilian architect and designer – whose work remains largely unknown outside the country's borders.
Left: A textile piece from the Tatter Blue Library, and right, the simplicity and respect for the forces of nature are features of Chu Ming Silveira's residential projects on the São Paulo coast, in particular in Ilhabela, developing a unique style dubbed “Post-caiçara”, harmoniously slotting contemporary materials and techniques in with traditional Caiçaran culture
NOURISH
Experience the retrospective of Ruth Asawa at MoMa, NY, an artist, mother and civic leader whose lifelong explorations of materials and forms in a variety of mediums, including wire sculpture, bronze casts, drawings, paintings, prints, and public works.
Contemplate Botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer ideas on the gift economy, and how honouring reciprocity with nature can guide us toward climate solutions rooted in gratitude, not domination.
Listen to the Crossing the River podcast series, from More Than Human Life (MOTH) hearing from multiple Indigenous leaders who share their life experiences, knowledge and urgent wisdom on the path to a possible future.
Left: A Mexican pottery flute, one of the sounds from the catalogue by The Museum of Pre-Columbian Art in Santiago. Right: Ruth Asawa at work, showcased next year at MoMa' retrospective exhibition, where there will be over 398 objects on view, making the exhibition the museum’s largest ever to be dedicated to a woman artist.
LOCAL NEWS
Norlha’s 18th Anniversary ~
On November 13th, Norlha marked its 18th anniversary on a clear, chilly day, bringing together current staff and retired members. Professor Tsering Dondhup attended as chief guest and spoke on the importance of interconnectivity, love, care, and integrity as the foundations of a strong community. The celebration concluded with a communal draw and lunch, enjoyed in a light and joyful atmosphere.
Chokhor ~
Chokhor is an annual event held in conjunction with Lhabab Duchen and took place this year on November 11th. It marks the return of the animals to their winter pastures and involves blessing the land and its inhabitants by circumambulating the area on horseback while carrying volumes of the Kangyur. At 7 a.m., the village’s horse-owning men gathered at the monastery to collect the texts before setting off, each carrying one or two volumes strapped to their backs. This year, nearly a hundred horsemen began together, completing the five-hour circuit at varying speeds.
Whitewashing ~
The annual whitewashing ceremony was held on November 8th, in preparation for Lhabab Duchen on the 11th. The ritual symbolises purification ahead of the Buddha’s descent to the human realm, accompanied by bodhisattvas, to alleviate suffering. Limestone mixed with water—its whiteness representing purity—is thrown onto the walls by the monks, cleansing the area of the past year’s accumulated negative karma.
