Art After Dark

5:30 & 7 pm / Choose between a Docent Tour of either Highlights of the Collection or Artists' Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection. 

6 & 7:30 pm / Docent-led Spotlight tours on works of art featured in Art of the Word, highlighting the Heart Sutra.

Tour is limited to 25 visitors. Pick up your tour wristband at the Reception Desk one hour before the tour.

Great Hall

Pouring fragrant water over the images of Prince Siddhartha symbolizes inner purification. Drop in and partake in this celebratory ritual. 

Colonnade

Understanding the Heart Sutra: An Introductory Talk by Venerable Hui Cheng

The Heart Sutra is one of the most profound and widely recited texts in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, revered for both its depth and brevity. In this lecture, Venerable Hui Cheng guides us through the Buddha’s timeless teaching on the interrelationship between form and emptiness. At the core of the sutra lies its powerful message: “form is emptiness, emptiness is form”—a teaching that encourages us to observe beyond surface appearances and fixed perceptions. By illuminating the true nature of all phenomena, the Heart Sutra invites us to free ourselves from attachments, transcend dualistic thinking, and cultivate a mind rooted in clarity, compassion, and wisdom.

Pearson Boardroom

5:45 - 6:15 pm, and 7:15 - 7:45 pm 

Learn about the history of Tai Chi and take a short class with Juying Janowsky. The class is for all guests, from beginners to experienced practitioners. Enjoy an opportunity to try this traditional Chinese exercise promoting peace of mind and wellness through gentle, continuous movement. 

Korman Room

Wu Chang-shuo (吳昌碩) (Chinese, 1844-1927), Fan Decorated with Calligraphy, circa 1890s – 1915, Qing Dynasty, Guangxu – Xuantong Reign

Join Guest Teaching Artist Simon Powers to create a paper fan inspired by a work in our Collection.

Classroom #2

Artist Penelope Umbrico’s installations, video, and digital media works utilize photo-sharing and consumer-to-consumer websites (eBay, Craigslist, and Flickr) as an expansive archive to explore the production and consumption of images. Join Umbrico and Lauren Richman, Ph.D., William and Sarah Ross Soter Senior Curator of Photography, for a conversation about the appropriation and digital distortion of found images. Her work, Mountains, Moving: Of Dr. George C. Poundstone, 1926-2013 is featured in the special exhibition, Blur / Obscure / Distort: Photography and Perception.

RSVP 

Space is limited; online registration required.

Stiller Auditorium

6:15 - 6:40 pm, 6:50 - 7:15 pm, 7:25 - 7:50 pm, and 8:00 - 8:20 pm

Calligraphy transcribing meditation offers a contemplative path to deepen mindfulness through the written word. With each brushstroke, we are gently invited to slow down, quiet the mind, and be fully present, bringing intention, reverence, and clarity to every character. As we carefully trace each word, we begin to attune ourselves to the wisdom it contains, allowing its teachings to echo within. Line by line, this practice becomes more than writing — it becomes a graceful expression of our inner potential for calmness, insight, and concentration. Within this tranquil space, we cultivate patience, focused attention, and a steady capacity to let go of negativity and attachment, nourishing the mind with every stroke.

Great Hall  

On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month around 623 BCE, Prince Siddhartha was born in Lumbini, near the kingdom of Kapilavastu — then part of ancient India, now in modern-day Nepal. His birth was marked by auspicious signs, including a gesture pointing to the sky and earth, symbolizing the Buddha Nature inherent in all beings. At 29, Siddhartha renounced his royal life to seek a path beyond suffering for all sentient beings. After years of deep spiritual practice, he attained enlightenment at age 35 beneath the Bodhi tree, becoming the Buddha — the Awakened One. For the next 45 years, he shared the Dharma, illuminating the path through the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. This film traces the Buddha’s journey and teachings, offering a timeless message of compassion, mindfulness, and inner wisdom. 

Stiller Auditorium