On a bustling street corner in Manhattan's Chelsea district, where New Yorkers once shopped for fine goods in one of the city's most posh department stores, now stands a gateway to a far-flung region of the world. The Rubin Museum of Art, which occupies what was formerly a portion of Barneys, opened last October to all those seeking a better understanding of the culture and arts of the Himalayas.

It is fitting, then, that a group founded to promote both the museum and the region which it represents is called the Torana Club. The word "torana" means "gateway" in Sanskrit, and Torana Club founder Patrick Sloane hopes that the group will serve as the museum's ambassador to young people interested in exploring the treasures of the Himalayan world.

The museum boasts a comprehensive collection of art from the Himalayas and surrounding regions. "There is certainly no greater place in the Americas—or perhaps the Western world—to learn about the art and culture of the Himalayas than the Rubin Museum of Art," says Sloane, who works on investment management matters at Citigroup. The Torana Club, a group of 12 young professionals passionate about sharing the museum with their peers, is spearheading the "movement to get many more young people familiar with and involved in the Rubin Museum and all it has to offer."

To kick off its effort in attracting young visitors to the museum, the Torana Club is hosting an "exclusive evening of art, cocktails, conversation, music and dancing" from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Thursday, June 30, at the museum. "We've been organizing the event for a few months and are very excited about it," says Sloane. And with good reason—the group has managed to nab rising tabla player Suphala to perform. "She'll then play a set with DJ Donna D'Cruz, a hot New York DJ who spins at Lotus, LeSouk and tons of other places," adds Sloane.

New York attorney Madhu Goel, another member of the Torana Club, adds that, "For $40 a ticket, believe me, this is not a money-making event. This is purely to introduce young people who appreciate art and culture to something magical." Goel knows of what she speaks. She traveled through the Himalayas a few years ago, and it was an experience she'll never forget. "I had visited Dharamshala and the Dalai Lama's monastery and stopped through various hill stations. I just got a sense of peace and tranquility and such a warmth from the people who had settled around there, many of them refugees from Tibet. The amazing sunsets atop the snow peaked mountains were as majestic as the people I met. It was truly a moving experience," she says.

Goel believes that the museum encapsulates some of that beauty and tranquility through its exhibits and offerings. "The space is quite beautiful and the exhibits are spaced out in a way that allows one to feel like there is nothing else between you and that particular art piece one is looking at and absorbing. It's truly phenomenal." In addition to partaking in a sumptuous evening of music and art, visitors will enjoy a private viewing of the "Female Buddhas: Women of Enlightenment in Himalayan Art" exhibit. The exhibit details the Buddhas, goddesses and meditational deities whose divinity is distinctly feminine.

Goel hopes that the Torana Club and its kickoff event will cause people to fall in love with the region the way she did. "If we can get others a bit interested in the art and culture of that region, expose people on the other side of the world to the rich history and accomplishments of the people over there, then perhaps it will inspire them to travel to those places, experience them for themselves, and just be educated about a certain corner of this world that, in my opinion, is underappreciated."