“Bhutan is a very small country, and I really did not think our voice was getting out of Bhutan.” For 2026 Rubin Art Prize winner Pem Lham (pempoko_art), the award is an opportunity to bring greater visibility to Bhutanese contemporary art—and to think more expansively about what comes next. “It enables us to think bigger and not restrict ourselves and our ideas and be a part of a bigger narrative,” Pem Lham says. The Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize provides $30,000 in unrestricted funds to support living artists whose work contributes to dialogues between Himalayan art and contemporary life. For Pem Lham, that support will help fuel continued research, experimentation, and future projects while bringing Bhutanese contemporary art to a wider global audience. Hear more from Pem Lham in the full video on YouTube via the link in bio. #PemLham #RubinArtPrize #BhutaneseArt