History of Living Traditions Museum (LTM)

Judith Chase is founder of Living Traditions Museum, registered in Nepal as a non-profit organization, with a board of directors to ensure its continuity.  LTM has an agreement with the Nepal Government Department of Archaeology to establish and maintain the museum within the UNESCO World Heritage site of Changu Narayan, high on a ridge near the old capital city of Bhaktapur.

Judith established Living Traditions Museum in 2011 upon returning to Nepal together with her extensive collection. Ramesh Dawadi, former chairman of the board of directors of LTM, immediately grasped the significance of this donation to the Nepali people and helped to secure the spaces at Changu Narayan sattal, an extensive area which will eventually encompass seven exhibition galleries.  We completed two galleries before the earthquake arrived.  The remaining five are waiting for our attention.  

The photos below show LTM the day after the 2015 earthquake.  We were fortunate to have the assistance of the US Marines and the Nepali police and army to evacuate the collection of LTM to safe storage at a nearby house.  We also rescued the steel and glass exhibition cases.  The museum building was destroyed, was completely removed, and has now been entirely rebuilt, with most of the essential wooden materials salvaged.  It was an enormous loss and much was lost over the whole country.

LTM worked with the Department of Archaeology and John Sanday Associates to rebuild and restore the museum building.  

On March 15th, 2023 we re-opened the museum exhibition.

We are currently designing a new exhibition for the upstairs gallery which will include textiles and ornaments representing a variety of cultural groups.

Please support our efforts to preserve and share the unique cultures of Nepal. We appreciate your generous contributions and invite you to visit.