Rubin Museum of Art

The Elevate Prize would allow me to expand the Mandala Lab, a project I am developing at the Rubin Museum of Art, that has the potential to help thousands develop self-awareness and positive change in their lives.

The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified disparities among us and the unalterable commonality of death. Our social divisions, disconnection, and isolation have increased. Learning to accept and consider all of life’s larger dilemmas using the insights of Buddhist precepts can lead to greater resilience and composure in the face of adversity.

The transformative power of this approach—implemented as indexical, experiential moments that combine mindfulness practice with science—offers people a way out of suffering by helping them to recognize emotions and harness energies to successfully navigate and become more fully engaged.

Mandala Lab opens on September 24, 2021, as a reconfigured floor in the Museum that incorporates the physical layout of a mandala as well as its teachings. Beyond interactive installations, our initial programming will focus on children and teens, who are coping with extraordinary stresses during the formative years of their lives.

Funds from the Elevate Prize would advance our ultimate goal: to provide in-person and online programming to reach a much wider audience.

As a founding staff member and Deputy Executive Director of the Rubin Museum of Art, I am dedicated to its mission—to offer the meaningful benefits that art of the Himalayan region is intended to provide: awareness, focus, reduced anxiety and emotional reactivity, and a deeper understanding of ourselves. Mandala Lab, a social, emotional, and ethical learning center, will offer the possibility of personal transformation to a wider audience.

I joined in 2003, and for the last eighteen years I have worked to create environments that enable visitors to internalize experiences; see their problems differently; learn to alter their perceptions and behaviors for positive change. As Chief Programmatic Officer, my goal is to use the knowledge that I’ve gained through my work to make Mandala Lab a success.

In 2008, I launched Brainwave, the Rubin’s signature live, on-stage conversation series that combines the most compelling advances in empirical science with traditional Himalayan wisdom, providing a forum for scientists, rendering complex ideas and providing experiential moments of learning for our audiences. Brainwave’s success has influenced other programs, and Mandala Lab will continue the Rubin’s multifaceted approach to learning.

Fighting disillusionment and distress is vital work, though difficult to quantify. A 2020 study in Journal of Anxiety Disorders revealed that during the early stages of the pandemic, 22% of the general population in Canada and the United States were experiencing clinically depressive symptoms. China reported a 25% increase, confirming the worldwide effects of this dislocation.

Our children and youth are negatively affected by the chaos of contemporary time. Over 6 million children in the United States ages 2–17 are diagnosed with some form of attention disorder. Half have a behavioral or conduct problem; 30 percent have anxiety. Of these, 77 percent receive treatment that can increase irritability and moodiness and present risks to heart health with long-term use (CDC, 2016). Time-honored and scientifically validated awareness practices are a non-pharmaceutical and cost-effective intervention for these disorders.

The Mandala Lab builds on our other efforts—by using our collection of Himalayan objects, scientific knowledge, mindfulness techniques, community and professional connections, and outside experts to guide our work. We are utilizing SEE Learning for our K-12 programs, developed by Emory University’s Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics in partnership with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

This work disrupts at the individual, psychological level. We are the only museum in the US that incorporates the counter-intuitive approach of Buddhist practice in our objects and applies it to secular learning for traditional museum constituencies, pre-school through university-level students, seniors, members of the Asian diaspora, those interested in mindfulness and meditation, scholars, veterans, and people living with dementia and their caregivers. It is radical in its use of the nature of perception applied to scientific, psychological problem solving, and in its application to a universe of varying ages and abilities.

More than a popularization of eastern practices, we combine recent, relevant scientific studies with Buddhist meditation practices, and include among our advisors and staff, individuals who work within Asian organizations, who are Buddhists, and who study the brain and behavior. Our current institutional partners include University of Wisconsin Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds and Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary of the Emotional Regulation Lab and Hunter College. Deepak Chopra and Donald Lopez, Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan are members of the Rubin’s Advisory Council, and our staff includes Tibetan American Tenzin Gelek as Senior Specialist, Himalayan Arts and Culture.

Mandala Lab is the next step for the Museum’s strategic vision of empowering people through transformative experiences. Opening in-person in September, we aspire to offer this recalibration to thousands through online programming in 2022.

For maximum effectiveness, we will incorporate SEE Learning into our education programs, implement audience evaluations for improvements, use our advisors for development of online programs, use a consultant for the most effective delivery of programs, continue a focused media campaign, and raise 75% of costs by the end of 2022. Initial offerings in September will include 30 K-12 workshops and teacher training.

The effectiveness of our virtual programming is seen in responses to our 2020 projects during the pandemic: 30 Daily Offerings, streaming our Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, and The Lotus Effect, a participatory activity that culminated in an installation in our lobby. Thousands—including hundreds from residents of Hebrew Home in Riverdale, NY—contributed origami lotuses, a symbol of regeneration and rebirth, and dedicated these to an important person in their lives. These programs received 280,000 online views over 6 months, and the Rubin’s YouTube channel saw an increase in views from 90,190 in 2019 to 1,060,044 in 2020. We also saw engagement from 78 non-US countries.