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2025 Mandala @ MITCo-sponsored by MIT Prajnopaya, Buddhist Student Club, Simmons Hall

Grassroots Initiatives in Cultural Heritage Preservation International Symposium organized by the Aga Khan Documentation Center (AKDC) and Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) Room 2-190 & OnlineCommunities around the world have demonstrated extraordinary resilience in safeguarding their cultural heritage amid armed conflict and natural disasters. This symposium seeks to examine the vital contributions of individuals and non-governmental organizations in preserving cultural heritage under such conditions. Through the exploration of cross-regional case studies and shared thematic concerns, this symposium aims to illuminate the critical role grassroots initiatives play in shaping the future of heritage preservation.Emphasizing community engagement and local empowerment, the program foregrounds the importance of centering local voices in the design and implementation of preservation strategies. Presentations will cover a diverse array of regions and efforts, including Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, and Kosovo.This one-day symposium will feature three presentation panels followed by a roundtable discussion focused on lessons learned and practical recommendations emerging from the case studies. The discussion aims to contextualize a framework of support for locally driven and sustainable approaches to cultural heritage preservation. Simultaneously, it will offer reflections for the international community on how to engage meaningfully in heritage protection—without reinforcing power asymmetries or diminishing the agency of those to whom this heritage belongs.Program and Speakers9:00 - 9:10 Opening remarks from AKDC and MIT Libraries9:10 - 10:10 Session 1 - Community Agency in Times of Crisis and ConflictPreserving Heritage in Times of Crisis: A Legacy of Community Response, Kristin Parker, Lead Curator of the Arts, Boston Public LibraryCulture at the Core of Recovery: Insights into the Community Role in Preserving Aleppo’s Cultural Heritage, Ruba Tamim Kasmo, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design, and Architecture, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University, Istanbul (Online)10:10 - 10:40 Coffee Break10:40 - 12:00 Session 2 - Regional and Institutional Practices in Heritage EngagementAcademic Contribution to Cultural Heritage Preservation in Kosovo, Florina Jerliu, Faculty of Architecture, University of Prishtina, KosovoFrom Conflict to Conservation: The MaLiCH Project’s Approach to Protecting Libya’s Heritage, Hiba Alkhalaf, Research Associate, Department of Classics, King’s College London (Online)Reconstruction: Recovery and Rebuilding Projects for the Conservation and Restoration of Yemen’s Cultural Heritage, Zaydoon Zaid, Senior Cultural Heritage Adviser, Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC)12:00 - 01:00 Lunch break1:00 - 2:00 Exhibition visit: Ink, Stone, and Silver Light: A Century of Cultural Heritage Preservation in Aleppo, Maihaugen Gallery (MIT, Room 14N-130)2:00 - 3:20 Session 3 - Reflections on Heritage, Identity, and MemoryRIWAQ’s Role in the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Palestine, Shatha Safi, Director of Riwaq, and Hiba Omari, Development Officer of RIWAQCultural Heritage and Change in Iraq, Mehiyar Kathem, Deputy Director of Nahrein Network, University College LondonA Quest for Beauty Amongst the Rubble, Suha Hasan, Program Head of Climate Cartographies at the AA School of Architecture3:20 - 3:40 Coffee Break3:40 - 4:40 Discussion PanelModerator: Nasser Rabbat, Professor and Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, MITStephannie Mulder, Associate Professor, Art History, UT AustinNada Al Hassan, Cultural Heritage Expert

Time: 9:00 AMLocation: Rome, GA / Berry College

Join a teaching retreat on Cultivating Patience led by Venerable Gyabung Rinpoche, visiting during 2025 Mandala @ MIT, Healing the Divide: Compassion, Unity & Flourishing. Open to all with advance registration on our website. Please bring a valid MIT or govt-issued i.d. to access the venue.MIT students may email Linda Krause to register.

As part of 2025 Mandala at MIT: Healing the Divide eventOctober 18, 2025 | MIT Simmons Hall (229 Vassar St.)10AM-1PM: Perfection of Patience from Shantideva's Guide to Bodhisattva's Way of Life3PM:4:30PM: White Tara Prayers for Peace and Healing(Registration is Required. MIT Students can send email to Linda Krause to register)

The irony of artificial intelligence is that it often reveals more about human intelligence than machines themselves.From AI in the home to robots in the workplace, the presence of AI all around us compels us to question its potential and recognize the risks. What has become clear is that the more we advance AI technology and consider machine ability versus human ability, the more we need to mind the gap.Researchers at MIT have been at the forefront of this evolving field. The work presented in this exhibition builds on the pioneering contributions of figures such as Claude Shannon and Seymour Papert, while highlighting contemporary research that spans computer science, mechanical engineering, neuroscience, and the social sciences.As research probes the connections between human and machine intelligence, it also underscores the profound differences. With AI now embedded in everyday life — from smart assistants in our homes to robots in the workplace — we are challenged to ask critical questions about its potential, its risks, and the boundaries between machine ability and human capability.Join us in shining light on the tremendous promise, unforeseen impacts, and everyday misconceptions of AI in this riveting, interactive exhibition.Learn more about the exhibition.

How can code be used as a creative tool by artists and designers?This question motivates the work of the Future Sketches group at the MIT Media Lab. Led by artist and educator Zach Lieberman, the group aims to help us “see” code by using it to make artistically controlled, computer-generated visuals.Explore some of the latest research from the group that uses typography and digital tools to create interactive, creative, and immersive work.Located in our Martin J. (1959) and Eleanor C. Gruber Gallery.

How can you investigate something you cannot see?The challenge of understanding the unknown motivates scientists today, just as it has inspired curious people for centuries.Using material from the Allen Forbes Collection, this exhibit traces the scientific process of observing, measuring, and describing that turned whales from monsters into mammals.Using prints from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, Monsters of the Deep examines how European knowledge about the creatures of the sea was informed by new information from sailors, scholars, and beachcombers, and how that knowledge transformed what people understood about the natural world.Want a closer look at what we have on view? You can explore digitized versions of exhibition objects here.On view through January 2026.

Hiroshi Ishii and the Tangible Media Group at the MIT Media Lab have pioneered new ways for people to interact with computers, with the invention of the “tangible user interface.”It began with a vision of "Tangible Bits," where users can manipulate ordinary physical objects to access digital information. It evolved into a bolder vision of "Radical Atoms," where materials can change form and reconfigure themselves just as pixels can on a screen. This experimental exhibit of three iconic works — SandScape, inFORM, and TRANSFORM — is part of the MIT Museum's ongoing efforts to collect the physical machines as well as preserve the user experience of, in Ishii's words, making atoms dance.Learn more about the exhibits here, or watch the YouTube video of Hiroshi Ishii's talk at the MIT Museum below.This is an ongoing exhibition in our MIT Collects exhibition.

Janet Echelman's Remembering the Future widens our perspective in time, giving sculptural form to the history of the Earth's climate from the last ice age to the present moment, and then branching out to visualize multiple potential futures.Constructed from colored twines and ropes that are braided, knotted and hand-spliced to create a three-dimensional form, the immersive artwork greets you with its grand scale presiding over the MIT Museum lobby.This large-scale installation by 2022-2024 MIT Distinguished Visiting Artist Janet Echelman, was developed during her residency at the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST). Architect, engineer and MIT Associate Professor Caitlin Mueller collaborated on the development of the piece.The title, Remembering the Future was inspired by the writings commonly attributed to Søren Kierkegaard: "The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you'll never have."As the culmination of three years of dedicated research and collaboration, this site-specific installation explores Earth's climate timeline, translating historical records and possible futures into sculptural form.Echelman's climate research for this project was guided by Professor Raffaele Ferrari and the MIT Lorenz Center, creators of En-ROADS simulator which uses current climate data and modeling to visualize the impact of environmental policies and actions on energy systems.Learn more about Janet Echelman and the MIT Museum x CAST Collaboration.Learn more about the exhibition at the MIT Museum.

Time: 9:30 AMLocation: Cambridge, MA

How do you draw a picture of something you’ve heard about but never seen? How do you see it in the first place?This problem has bedeviled scientists for centuries. Today, we look for things like black holes and gravitational waves. Five hundred years ago, people tried to understand mysterious ocean creatures—like whales.Join an exhibition curator for a tour of Monsters of the Deep to see how sailors, scholars, and everyday people turned monsters into mammals.

Join MIT List Visual Arts Center on a public art walking tour showcasing the MIT Public Art Collection across the central side of campus.View select artworks and consider how art and architecture have enhanced MIT's campus design, featuring artworks such as Spencer Finch’s Bring me the sunset in a cup and Julian Charrère’s Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More.MIT’s Percent-for-Art Program, administered by the List Visual Arts Center, allocates a portion of the project funds to commission art for each new major renovation or campus construction project. The policy was formally instituted in 1968, but earlier collaborations between artists and architects can be found on MIT’s campus. When architect Eero Saarinen designed the MIT Chapel in 1955, sculptor Theodore Roszak designed the Bell Tower and sculptor Harry Bertoia designed the Altarpiece. In 1985, architect I.M. Pei and artists Scott Burton, Kenneth Noland, and Richard Fleischner collaborated on Percent-for-Art projects for the Wiesner Building and plaza, home to the MIT List Visual Arts Center and the Media Laboratory.This program is free, but registration required.This program is weather dependent. Registered attendees will receive an email the day before the tour date if needed to cancel due to weather conditions.

The MIT Life on Stage Theater (LOST) fall production of the play Moonchildren, by Michael Weller. This play from the author of Split and Loose Ends explores the rootless 60's generation of free-love and protest. Five male college seniors and their housemates have no purpose in their lives. They march against the staus quo and taunt the "pigs". One feels genuine emotion at his mother's death from cancer, one romance dies and another is aborted. Ultimately, they realize their lives are as empty as the establishment they protest so vehemently against.Attendance free to all! Come see in Kresge Little Theater fromthe 16th to the 18th of October.

Ten minutes for your mind@2:50 every day at 2:50 pm in multiple time zones:Europa@2:50, EET, Athens, Helsinki (UTC+2) (7:50 am EST) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88298032734Atlantica@2:50, EST, New York, Toronto (UTC-4) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85349851047Pacifica@2:50, PST, Los Angeles, Vancouver (UTC=7) (5:50 pm EST) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85743543699Almost everything works better again if you unplug it for a bit, including your mind. Stop by and unplug. Get the benefits of mindfulness without the fuss.@2:50 meets at the same time every single day for ten minutes of quiet together.No pre-requisite, no registration needed.Visit the website to view all @2:50 time zones each day.at250.org or at250.mit.edu

Time: 9:30 AMLocation: Cambridge, MA

Thomas Tull Concert Hall, MIT Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 7:00pm Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 2:00pmErrollyn Wallen's Dido's Ghost (2021) resurrects a timeless tale, casting a haunting shadow on Virgil's epic. This chamber opera delves into the spectral aftermath of Dido's despair, exploring the lingering echoes of love and betrayal by setting the entirety of Purcell’s original Dido and Aneas as a dream sequence. Wallen's evocative new score bookends the Purcell revealing a new dimension to a familiar tragedy. Witness a powerful, intimate performance where ancient myth meets modern musicality, and the past speaks with a chilling, unforgettable voice. Emmanuel Music is delighted to continue our collaboration with choreographer Shura Baryshnikov and to work with director Rebecca Miller Kratzer.Join us for a talk back after the performance with Errollyn Wallen, Ryan Turner, and librettist Wesley Stace.Carley DeFranco, Anna/DidoDavid Thomas Mather, AeneasJonathan Woody, Elymas/SorceressKatherine Maysek, Lavinia/SpiritMorgan Mastrangelo, Ascanius/First SailorMara Riley, BelindaSonja Tengblad, Second WomanClaire Huchthausen, Ananeah Nevil, WitchesWesley Stace, LibrettistRebecca Miller Kratzer, DirectorShura Baryshnikov, ChoreographerThe Orchestra and Chorus of Emmanuel Music in collaboration with the MIT Chamber Chorus, conducted by Ryan Turner.This production will run approximately 95 minutes with no intermission and will include English supertitles.

Student film screening hosted by the polymer graduate student association. Snacks and popcorn provided in the reception area.

The MIT Life on Stage Theater (LOST) fall production of the play Moonchildren, by Michael Weller. This play from the author of Split and Loose Ends explores the rootless 60's generation of free-love and protest. Five male college seniors and their housemates have no purpose in their lives. They march against the staus quo and taunt the "pigs". One feels genuine emotion at his mother's death from cancer, one romance dies and another is aborted. Ultimately, they realize their lives are as empty as the establishment they protest so vehemently against.Attendance free to all! Come see in Kresge Little Theater fromthe 16th to the 18th of October.