"Tai Chi at the Mead" Series to Continue     

      

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 4, 2012              

[email protected], 413-542-5455

 

AMHERST, Mass. - The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College will continue its series Tai Chi at the Mead, free and open to the public, in the museum's Neuhoff Sculpture Court. The sessions, led by David Mazor, Amherst College's Tai Chi and Qigong meditation and exercise instructor, will take place at noon on three Wednesdays: June 6, July 18 and Aug. 1, 2012.  Designed to engage participants physically and intellectually, each session will combine instructor-led Tai Chi and shared discussion of Tai Chi principles or practice in relation to a single artwork in the collection or an architectural structure on campus.

 

Tai Chi originated as a mode of self-defense in ancient China and has evolved into a gentle form of exercise. According to the series' organizer, Maggie Dethloff, Tai Chi is often called "meditation in motion." Like the series Meditations at the Mead, Tai Chi at the Mead emphasizes mindfulness, but it adds a component of bodily involvement, thus offering further opportunities for art lovers to take their engagement to a new level.

Participants are welcome to attend any number of the sessions. All postures will be beginner-level, to accommodate all levels of experience. Participants should wear comfortable clothing.

The featured art and architecture will be:

 

June 6: Stearns Steeple

July 18: Two Lines Oblique Down, 1970, by George Rickey

Aug. 1: Assyrian relief sculpture from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II

 

The Mead Art Museum houses the art collection of Amherst College, spanning 5,000 years and encompassing the creative achievements of many world cultures. An accredited member of the American Association of Museums, the Mead participates in Museums10, a regional cultural collaboration. The museum and its gift shop-caf� are open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round, and until midnight on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday during the academic term.

 

For more information, including a complete schedule of all museum events, please visit amherst.edu/mead or call 413/542-2335.