North America’s First Gandhi Museum
The only museum in the United States devoted only to Gandhi is the Eternal Gandhi Museum, which is committed to conserving and advancing the nonviolent values of Mahatma Gandhi. It was formally opened to the public on October 2nd, which also happened to be Gandhi’s 154th birthday, after a lavish ribbon-cutting event on August 15th.
Portraits of numerous peace advocates, including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Betty Williams, and others, adorn the external walls of this semicircular museum. Gandhi’s statue is prominently displayed in front of the museum.
Dr. Rajmohan Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and Sir Isaac Newton Farris Jr., the younger brother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., amongst many other recognised guests, addressed the museum’s grand opening celebration.
The EGMHC “will inspire civilization to conquer hatred, violence, and domination,” according to Dr. Rajmohan Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson. Gandhi as well as King advocate for dignity, justice, and the achievement of peace for millions of individuals around the world.
The 13,000 square foot Everlasting Gandhi Museum (EGMHC) in Houston is fashioned like Gandhi’s well-known spinning wheel, a representation of his struggle for freedom from colonial tyranny. From Gandhi’s early years in India through his early legal career in Africa, where he evolved into a champion of nonviolent resistance in the fight for liberation, it provides insights into various stages of Gandhi’s life. Visitors to the “My Journey,” “Our Journey,” and “A Journey” exhibits can fully immerse themselves in Mahatma Gandhi’s life and philosophy.
‘This museum and the vision of the great Mahatma are greatly needed in America today, and that’s why I had to fly in from Atlanta for the celebration,’ said Isaac Newton Farris Jr.
EJGMHC will be a museum where individuals from many backgrounds may come together and absorb knowledge from leaders who have enacted significant social change in a nonviolent manner. As explained by Atul Kothari, a trustee and co-founder of the museum, during the museum tour, “Its mission is to provide curriculum-based education for Texas students in grades six through twelve, inspiring the next generation of leaders to advocate for peace and social justice.”
Three galleries make up the museum: “His Journey,” “Lower Journey,” and “My Journey.” The Houston Endowment Foundation, Congressman Al Green, Fort Bend County, and Dr. Annie Chao all contributed to its founding in 2016.
We have raised $8 million to date out of a total building budget of $10 million, Kothari continued. The choice of RDLR Architects and Principal Lori Westrick came first. Their great museum layout was inspired by the charkha, or spinning wheel. Brian Crockett, a consultant for the Smithsonian museums, was also hired by us. The exhibit designer for all museum galleries, Cynthia Torp, was chosen by the EJGMHC from Solid Light, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky.
The museum emphasises encouraging visitors to be agents of good change and offers content in English, Spanish, and Hindi. It features well-known peace activists like Malala Yousafzai, Cesar Chavez, Wilma Mankiller, and Greta Thunberg. Gandhi’s life story is included in a small theatre, and the museum is creating an educational programme.
The voyage of “Mahatma Gandhi” is defined by three separate galleries.
In Gallery 1 :
We find out about Mahatma Gandhi’s development from a young man of fear to a man of freedom
In Gallery 2 :
we see how world peace leaders have continued Gandhi’s legacy by enacting significant societal change on a global scale. Discover the lives of people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Lech Walesa, Nelson Mandela, Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan, and others who fought for social justice by using nonviolent conflict resolution.
In Gallery 3 :
Additionally, it gives the visitor a space to pause and think in.
Gandhi Museum is accessible to all visitors
The much awaited Eternal Gandhi Museum (EGMHC) in Houston, North America, opened to the public on August 15th, but its official opening ceremony took place on October 2nd, which also happened to be Mahatma Gandhi’s 154th birthday.
Dr. Rajmohan Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s grandson, Isaac Newton Farris Jr., and CGAI Houston D. Manjunath were among the notable attendees at the occasion.
In the museum, people can view glimpses of Gandhi’s fights.
Dr. Rajmohan Gandhi said that this museum would motivate people to rise above prejudice, aggression, and dominance. Gandhi and King serve as a universal emblem of respect, equality, and peace. Gandhi’s famous 24-spoke spinning wheel, which symbolises his fight for freedom from the British, served as the architectural inspiration for the 13,000-square-foot museum.