The Art of Being: Attention, Presence, and Contemplative Viewing

Mindfulness educator Mitra Manesh leads a special after-hours contemplative experience at the Fowler inspired by her book The Attentionist.
About this Event

Mindfulness educator Mitra Manesh leads a special after-hours contemplative experience at the Fowler inspired by her book . This immersive evening offers an invitation to slow down, look closely, and consider how attention shapes our relationships to art, ecology, and one another.
The program begins with a guided contemplative art-viewing experience in the galleries, inviting participants to engage with selected works through deep presence and unhurried observation. The evening then unfolds into a facilitated conversation with Manesh, exploring the themes at the heart of The Attentionist— awareness, perception, and the transformative power of intentional attention.The evening closes in the museum courtyard with tea and informal conversation, extending the practice of attention into a shared social space under the night sky.
Copies of 'The Attentionist: New Choices for a New World' will be available for purchase at the Fowler Museum Store and signing. 
Mitra Manesh is a senior mindfulness educator at UCLA Mindful, a heart-mind consultant to Fortune 500 companies, a former Human Rights Commissioner, and a recipient of the Golden Jubilee Medal from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. A painter and poet, she was born in Iran and shaped by a life of sharp turns and soulful crossings. Her work is rooted in the Persian wisdom tradition and has guided learners, leaders, and lovers across four continents toward more conscious, intentional lives. The Attentionist is her first book—a philosophical fable asking a simple and urgent question: what would change if we truly paid attention?
This program is presented in partnership with UCLA Mindful