About

Celebrate the Buddha Birth Day Festival 2019, with a special blessing ceremony of the Gallery's Bodhi Tree. In 2006, artist Lee Mingwei developed the Bodhi Tree Project specifically for the space near the entrance to the Gallery of Modern Art. The Bodhi Tree, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists, is the oldest depicted tree in Indian art and literature and is described as the mythical 'Tree of Life'. This Bodhi Tree has direct lineage to the original tree in the Indian state of Bihar where Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is said to have achieved enlightenment. This program is presented in conjunction with Fo Guang Shan Chung Tian Temple (founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun), the Buddha's Light International Association of Queensland, and The Australian Centre of Asia Pacific Art (ACAPA), the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art's Asian and Pacific research and publishing arm.