The highly anticipated opening of Namaste Reunited brought many friends and fans to ArtXchange Gallery on March 5. Buzz was generated by a wonderful writeup by Marian Liu in the Seattle Times and many new faces came to the gallery to learn about the Namaste Story and Namaste Children's Fund. Namaste Reunited is Cora Edmonds' first new body of work to be exhibited since her popular Himalayan Faces series in 2001.

The main portion of the exhibition exhibits Cora's photographic work from Nepal. Many viewers have heard the story behind her Namaste photograph and the exhibition picks the Namaste story up in 2007, when Cora and Phil Crean returned to Nepal to search for the young boy in the photograph. The story unfolds through a mixture of documentary photography, stunning art images, and personal photographs from the journey.

Following the successful reunion between Cora and the Namaste Boy, Gyeni Bohara, the exhibition presents sections detailing the work of Namaste Children's Fund. NCF, founded by Cora and Phil in 2008, serves Gyeni's home village of Thehe as well as other non-profit projects in Nepal. Many exciting projects are already well underway, and Namaste Reunited presents this work to the public through photographs, text, and multimedia. New photographs sent by NCF directors in Nepal show the progress being made on these exciting projects!

The final documentary portion of the exhibition follows Gyeni's first visit back to Thehe since leaving to attend boarding school. Cora and Phil accompanied the young boy in fall 2008, documenting the emotions and pride of Gyeni's family and Thehe citizens as they welcomed Gyeni back to his home. 

Also on display are stunning fine art photographs from Cora's travels around the world, from Nepal to Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Egypt, and more. View the entire exhibition online here!

15% of the proceeds from all Cora Edmonds' photography is donated to the Namaste Children's Fund! Her artwork can be purchased through ArtXchange Gallery in Seattle, WA.

For those interested in working directly on a school building project in Nepal, NCF would like to point out an upcoming opportunity. Crooked Trails, a non-profit travel organization in Seattle, has a program in October to stay in a village in Nepal, live with the local citizens, and improve the school for the children in the area. You will have an amazing cultural exchange and be able to give your much-needed support to education in Nepal. More info here!

For other volunteer opportunities in Nepal with NCF related projects, we encourage you to visit LIVE Nepal, a partner program with our friends at Hindu Vidyapeeth.

An exhibition exploring the Namaste Children's Fund history and projects. Also exhibiting new work by Cora Edmonds, benefitting NCF. "Namaste Reunited" opens March 5 and runs through April 31.

Join us for the opening reception during the First Thursday Artwalk on March 5, 5-8 pm! ArtXchange Gallery is located at 512 First Ave S (near the corner of First and S King).

Namaste Children's Fund kicked off with a grand launch party on Thursday July 24th, A Night in Durbar Square! For one night only ArtXchange Gallery in downtown Seattle was transformed into a colorful Kathmandu marketplace, with authentic Nepalese food, drink, music, art and crafts. The event was hosted by ArtXchange and Crooked Trails, a Seattle based non-profit travel organization, to raise funds to benefit the education of rural children in Nepal.

We want to extend our deepest thanks to everybody who attended the event! By purchasing a ticket, shopping the marketplace, bidding on art or donating directly, you helped us raise over $10,000! We are touched by the community's generosity and support. We especially want to thank our honored guest Dr. CM Yogi, who traveled from Kathmandu, Nepal to attend and speak about his work with children in Nepal. Dr. Yogi is the founder of the HVP-Nepal schools, whose students will benefit from half of all funds raised at the event. The other half will benefit the Shree Kalika school in Bhaktapur, a project that Crooked Trails has been supporting for several years.

Click below for more photos from A Night in Durbar Square!