Mindfulness at the Museum is a series of drop-in sessions focused on helping our wider community—inside and outside of the museum—to have access to tools to become more aware. Mindfulness meditation can help us to develop healthier minds and bodies, reduce stress, foster compassion, and increase our memory skills, among many other studied benefits. Participants may discover that this appreciation of the “here and now” extends outside the museum.

Join us for guided, seated meditation on Friday, December 22 at noon. These free drop-in sessions are open to all. No special clothing is required. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. No prior meditation experience is necessary.

Register here.

HARIPRASAD KOWTHA is an actor, teacher, and community organizer. Born the son of immigrant parents from India, he began a formal meditation practice as a youth in Phoenix, AZ. Since moving to Philadelphia in 2008, he has been teaching yoga and theatre to youth as a means of building community, healing the body, and sharpening the mind. In January, he created the twice-a-month People of Color Meditation Group at the Philadelphia Shambhala Center. He also organizes with the Philadelphia South Asian Collective around Dalit visibility, immigrant rights, and union development. In 2016, he and his partner co-founded the Mustard Seed Film Festival, the first and only independent, contemporary South Asian film festival in Philadelphia.He is also the youth programming director of Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed (T. O. Philly), a collective of organizers who explore physical theatre and movement as a means to break down systems of oppression.

Generous support for this program is provided by the Hemera Foundation.