Join Jameel Arts Centre in celebrating Slow Art Day on its tenth anniversary in 2020.  The Jameel dedicates a virtual guided meditation and slow-viewing session to one work, led by independent curator and researcher Lesley Gray. Participants are invited to take the time to slow down, meditate, explore the artwork and discuss how mindfulness has transformed their art-viewing experience. An Arabic session is also available to experience, led by Maryam Al Dabbagh.

Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes and prepare a place where they can meditate comfortably for the duration of the session, ideally in a meditation posture supported by pillows, with your back against the wall, in a comfortable chair or even lying down.

Participants are also encouraged to dim the lights, if possible, and remove external distractions. Phones should be silenced during meditation.

This session is free and available to all. 

Lesley Gray is a Dubai-based curator and researcher specialising in contemporary art and museums in the Arabian Gulf and Caspian Sea regions. She completed her PhD in Museum Studies from University College London focusing on contemporary art institutions and art practice in the GCC and Caspian Sea regions in November 2019, and has a research background in Anthropology, Contemporary Art (Museum Studies) and Islamic Art History. In addition to her professional curatorial projects, she is a frequent contributing writer to ArtAsiaPacific magazine and the ArtAsiaPacific Almanacs (2016-2019), and collaborates on curatorial projects with Ta(r)dino 6 Art Platform in Baku, Azerbaijan and Б’Art Contemporary in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Maryam Al Dabbagh is a writer, researcher and cultural communications consultant. She received her BA in Journalism from the American University of Sharjah, and a MA in Global Media and Postnational Communications from SOAS, London. Her research is focused on the literature and experience of the Arab Diaspora in the Gulf. She also leads on several projects concerned with the Arabisation and translation of cultural content in the region.

View the English Meditation SessionView the Arabic Meditation Session