Work has begun on the new auditorium for the Tibetan Institute for Performing Arts (TIPA) in Dharamshala, with a purifying ceremony and dance performance. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, laid the foundation stone, saying that with effort and hard work TIPA has become a successful organisation, known around the world. TIPA was set up in 1959 by HH the Dalai Lama.