Zoe,
Two points: Wonderful that the AAM is in St Louis, where the Pulitzer Arts Foundation has one of the best meditation at the museum programs I've seen. The man who organized it just left, but I'll see if he's still in St Louis (I think not). Even if he isn't, someone else there might be a good participant, and in any case, who doesn't want to go to a Tado Ando building with a reflecting pool and look at art/architecture with attention.
And, I would be interested in joining you IF I get approval for the expenses within the next 24 hours--I've been invited to be on another panel--and if the scheduling (same day) could be worked out. Tho we don't have a med. in gallery program per se, we at the Menil Collection talk about how "Every day is Slow Art Day at the Menil," and I've led meditations in the Rothko Chapel, one of which included looking at the paintings before and after meditating to see how one's attention differed.
I'm also going to use this platform (hobby horse alert) to suggest that "meditation in the museum" NOT be restricted to mindfulness, even tho that's a form of meditation often in the public eye in the US. Visualization practices and practices with light, for example, are among meditative techniques with "applicability" to artful concentration, I've found.
here's hoping we'll meet in Saint Louie,
joseph
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Joseph Newland
Director of Publishing
Menil Collection
Houston TX
There's wind and dust come right on in
this little grass hut.
There's a raggedy rug on the bed.
If somebody comes, I'll invite him on in.
I can scrape up some dirt for us to sit on.
-Wang Fanzhi, 7th century, trans. JP Seaton
Original Message:
Sent: 08-26-2016 08:34 PM
From: Zoe Silverman
Subject: Looking for Co-Presenters: Mindfulness with visitors and staff
Would anyone like to team up for an AAM 2017 proposal about mindfulness with museum visitors, staff, and program participants?
Together, let's deepen and extend the current conversation about mindfulness (cultivating awareness) in the field to include qualities of heart like gratitude, generosity, self-compassion. Complimenting mindfulness with "heartfulness" can help us transform the way we experience and relate to ourselves and the world around us. In museums, this might look like a family program about gratitude, a meditation on self-compassion, a space for visitors to give back, or a staff self-care initiative. Broadly, this session would explore overlaps between a range of mindful/heartful practices and the work of museums in the world.
Do your programs share an intention to help participants resource qualities of heart that will help them flourish outside of the walls of your institution? Do you offer staff opportunities to rest, reconnect, and cultivate gratitude for one another?
If so, I would love to connect! Alternatively, if you are already thinking in this direction and are looking for additional panelists, I would love to participate! Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Zoe Silverman
Associate Educator, Family Programs
Skirball Cultural Center
Los Angeles CA
(310) 440-4653
zsilverman@skirball.org
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