Family Sunday

Ages 3 and older with accompanying adults

Join us for a special Family Sunday at the Rubin! Bring your family to the Mandala Lab on the third floor for an afternoon of creativity and self-exploration that both kids and grown-ups can enjoy.

Each month we explore a new theme, with an art-making activity centered around that theme. A Museum educator does a brief demonstration of the project, teaches the art-making techniques, and lets you explore ways to make the project your own. 

At 1:00 PM, join us for Story Time, followed by yoga for kids. First, children’s book author Anu Sehgal will enthrall participants with a reading of her new book I am a Lotus. Then, yoga instructor Zak Risinger will teach a variety of lotus-inspired poses. A book signing will take place following the program. 

Reservations are required for the 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM time slots. The program is free for your family, and each ticket comes with free access to the Museum galleries. Reserve a 1:00 PM ticket to secure your spot for Story Time and yoga.

May Art-Making Activity

Lotuses are a common motif in Buddhist art. As a flower that grows out of muddy, murky water, lotus flowers symbolize spiritual growth and rising above circumstances. Let these flourishing flowers inspire you to create your own pop-up card that represents overcoming obstacles and being the best you can be.  

About the Book

The lotus flower has significance in many cultures and religions. It stands for resilience, persistence, inner strength, and humility. In the book I am a Lotus, children learn about everything that a lotus flower stands for, and how they can try to become a lotus flower in mind and body by incorporating a few practices into their daily lives.

About the Presenters

Anu Sehgal is the founder of The Culture Tree, a cultural literacy and language education program. She lives in New York with her husband and her two sons. She is a marketer by profession, holds an MBA from Yale University, and has worked in the corporate sector for almost 15 years. Anu believes awareness of one’s heritage, culture, and language is key for children to become self-aware and confident individuals.

Zak Risinger took his first hot yoga class in 2012 and was hooked. He ditched the gym, swimming, and running and made yoga his primary source of fitness. Zak believes that yoga should be challenging, fun, and accessible to everyone. By utilizing inventive sequencing and exercises, he pushes his students to go to their personal edge, build strength and flexibility that they never knew they had, and hopefully smile at least once, if not more, during class. He has taught extensively in Oregon, Connecticut, and New York City. He has been a certified yoga instructor since 2017 and was a senior teacher at bodē nyc, the oldest hot yoga studio on the east coast. His upbeat energy, humor, and humility lend themselves well to teaching kids of all ages, and he has extensive experience instructing yoga and movement sessions to neurodivergent students. Currently, you might find him teaching at Hot Yoga Chelsea, leading concierge yoga classes at luxury buildings throughout Manhattan, and once a month aboard the tall ship Wavertree at the South Street Seaport Museum.

This special Family Sunday is presented in partnership with The Culture Tree, an organization that provides South Asian–themed educational and cultural programs that enrich the lives of children and their families and promote a deeper connection with their roots and the world around them.

Mandala Lab and Family Sundays are made possible with lead support from the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Barbara Bowman, Dharma Joy Foundation, Noah P. Dorsky, Fred Eychaner, Agnes Gund, The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global, the Estate of Lisina M. Hoch, Lilly Endowment, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, Rasika and Girish Reddy, Shelley and Donald Rubin, and Tiger Baron Foundation.

Major support is provided by Bob and Lois Baylis, Sara and Joseph Bedrick, Anne and Albert Chao, Con Edison, Daphne Hoch Cunningham and John Cunningham, Anne E. Delaney, DeWitt Stern, Karen Dorsky, Chris K. Jones of Think Strong Scholarships, 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, Jesse Smith and Annice Kenan, Taipei Cultural Center in New York, and New York Life Insurance Company*, and New York Life.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

The Rubin Museum’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

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

*“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.

Photo by Filip Wolak