Archtober in the Mandala Lab

Join architect Nathan Rich (Peterson Rich Office) and Rubin Senior Specialist of Himalayan Art and Culture Tenzin Gelek for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Mandala Lab installation as part of the Archtober Festival. Learn about the inspiration behind the Mandala Lab and its emotionally engaging artworks and activities, and hear about the unique experience of transposing the visually and symbolically rich concept of a mandala into the physical structure of a museum. The tour will be followed by a Q&A session.

Nathan Rich is a principal at Peterson Rich Office, an interdisciplinary design studio working on cultural projects with social impact. Founded in 2012, the office currently employs a diverse team comprising six countries and five languages. Over the past 10 years, the practice has grown to oversee $80 million of ongoing and realized projects for leading clients in the cultural, residential, retail, and public sectors. This includes 55,000 SF of gallery space, four artist studio buildings, and numerous exhibitions. Through an ongoing eight-year partnership with NYCHA (NYC Housing Authority), PRO has created and conducted inclusive community design exercises that provide critical insights and recommendations aimed at helping to improve the country’s largest public housing program. Peterson Rich Office is currently working on cultural, residential, and commercial projects in New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Washington, California, and London.

Tenzin Gelek is the Senior Specialist, Himalayan Art and Culture at the Rubin Museum. Prior to the Rubin, he co-founded the Latse Project and was a former program officer at the Trace Foundation. For over 20 years, he has been a trusted advisor to many tech and nonprofit organizations ranging from Google to Himalayan Library, and he has been an active Dharma translator in New York City and beyond.

Mandala Lab and Family Sundays are made possible with lead support from the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Barbara Bowman, Fred Eychaner, the Estate of Lisina M. Hoch, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Rasika and Girish Reddy, Shelley and Donald Rubin, and Tiger Baron Foundation.

Major support is provided by Anonymous, Bob and Lois Baylis, Anne and Albert Chao, Con Edison, Daphne Hoch Cunningham and John Cunningham, Anne E. Delaney, DeWitt Stern, Karen Dorsky, Noah P. Dorsky, Jack Lampl, Max Meehan, Dan Gimbel of NEPC, LLC, The Prospect Hill Foundation, Sarah and Craig Richardson, Basha Frost Rubin and Scott Grinsell, the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, Namita and Arun Saraf, Linda Schejola, Eric and Alexandra Schoenberg, Eileen Caulfield Schwab, Tsherin Sherpa, Taipei Cultural Center in New York, and New York Life Insurance Company*, and New York Life.

Public funds are provided by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

We additionally thank the generosity of 223 sponsors and donors who contributed to our 2020 gala, Inside the Mandala: A Virtual Gala.

*”NEW YORK LIFE” and the NEW YORK LIFE Box Logo are trademarks of New York Life Insurance Company. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.