Tibetan Mandala Creation At Target Wednesday After Hours At The Frost Art Museum 11/4/09

Target Wednesday After Hours Series Continues with Tibetan Mandala and Dr. Nathan Katz Lecture

The Frost Art Museum’s free monthly event series, Target Wednesday After Hours, continues its programming with a lecture by Dr. Nathan Katz and the inauguration of the Mandala by the Monks of the Deprung Loseling Monastery. The event, free and open to the public, will be held at The Frost Art Museum and takes place November 4, from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Dr. Nathan Katz, the director of Florida International University’s Program in the Study of Spirituality will present a lecture entitled “Who is the Dalai Lama? And What is a Mandala?” He was selected as a delegate to the 1990 Tibetan-Jewish dialogue hosted by H.H. the Dalai Lama and reported in the best-selling The Jew in the Lotus. Dr. Katz was inspired by the Dalai Lama’s vision of educating the “warm heart” and the “good brain” when founding the Center for the Study of Spirituality.

The Monks will be creating the Mandala during normal hours of operation at The Frost from November 5 through November 7, at 3 p.m., when the Monks will formally consecrate the Mandala. The Mandala will be on view from November 4 until January 6 at 6 p.m. when the it will be deconstructed during a closing ceremony.

The Mandala of colored powders, or dul-tson-kyil-khor in Tibetan, is an ancient Tantric Buddhist art form created for the purpose of healing and re-consecrating the earth. The Monks of the Deprung Loseling Monastery painstakingly create the Mandala by carefully laying grains of colored sand in iconographic patterns and geometric shapes over a three day period.
The evening will also include readings from The Dhammapada: Teachings of Buddha, the most widely read Buddhist scripture in existence, throughout the night by members of the FIU community.
This event is co-sponsored by FIU’s Program in the Study of Spirituality and The Theta Alpha Kappa Religious Honors Society.
Information on future Target Wednesday After Hours is available through http://thefrost.fiu.edu/wah.htm
Target has teamed up with The Frost Art Museum to sponsor an event series designed to complement The Frost’s exhibitions. These events give visitors the chance to meet contemporary artists and engage with controversial art, live music, talks, films, dance, and performance art, while providing an excellent opportunity to socialize with other people interested in the arts.
What: Target Wednesday After Hours: Tibetan Mandala and Lecture by Dr. Nathan Katz
Where: The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum
10975 SW 17 Street
Miami, FL 33199
When: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
More information at http://thefrost.fiu.edu or 305.348.2890
About The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University
The Frost Art Museum opened its current 46,000-square-foot state of the art building in November, 2008. Over 22,000 people have visited The Museum in its new building since its opening. Admission to The Museum is always free. Currently on view at The Frost Art Museum, The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, En Vista, and l a c u n a i n t e s t i m o n y. The Frost is an AAM accredited museum and Smithsonian affiliate and is located at 10975 SW 17th St. across from the Blue garage and adjacent to the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. Closed on Mondays and most legal holidays. More information is available through thefrost.fiu.edu or 305-348-2890.
About the Program in the Study of Spirituality
FIU is the first university in the world to offer an undergraduate certificate program in the study of spirituality. The new program is an outgrowth of the Dalai Lama’s first visit to FIU in 1999, when the Tibetan religious leader challenged institutions of higher learning to train the “warm heart” as well as the “good brain.” The spirituality certificate combines the study of traditional religion-based spirituality and its practical applications for a wide array of fields, including pre-med, pre-law, psychology, nursing, fine and performing arts, business, journalism, education and a host of other disciplines for which such a credential would be of professional or personal value. If you would like more information on the Certificate program, please contact spirituality@fiu.edu or by phone at (305) 348-3909.