To compliment V Walton’s installation, I Find Rest, we are delighted to host a special 45 minute Sangha communal meditation led by storyteller, poet, writer, and mindfulness teacher Ayesha Ali. Held within the installation itself, this meditation will draw inspiration from Walton’s practice. Ali invites us to recognize how meditation practices can confront the delusion of separation that hinders us from connecting to ourselves and to other people.
Following the mediation, Walton will join Hannah Traore in a conversation exploring ecological stewardship, rest, and healing through ancestral and material pathways.
Ayesha Ali has been engaged in mindfulness practice and work for over twenty years sharing the liberation to be found in mindfulness with various organizations dealing with domestic violence and youth in under-resourced communities. Ayesha is also the founder of Heartwidth Mindfulness Community, one of the founders of the Heart Refuge Mindfulness Community for People of Color, a Dharma Teacher with the Insight Community of Washington, D.C., a teaching member of the IMCW Queer Sangha, and is the guiding teacher for the IMCW People of Color Sangha. Ayesha has also published articles in Lion’s Roar Magazine and Tricycle.
V Walton is a Maryland-based interdisciplinary artist and educator. Walton explores the wonder and complexity of Black identity, creating sculpture and video works that center the narratives of women and gender-expansive people. V draws from their own life: reflecting on the intersection of his identities, their chronic illness-disability, and queerness. Their work illustrates the societal and interpersonal dynamics that build and break us down simultaneously, making multi-layered connections between clay (terra), nature, and the body. They have an MFA in Ceramic Art from Alfred University and a BFA with a focus in ceramics from Towson University.
To compliment V Walton’s installation, I Find Rest, we are delighted to host a special 45 minute Sangha communal meditation led by storyteller, poet, writer, and mindfulness teacher Ayesha Ali. Held within the installation itself, this meditation will draw inspiration from Walton’s practice. Ali invites us to recognize how meditation practices can confront the delusion of separation that hinders us from connecting to ourselves and to other people.
Following the mediation, Walton will join Hannah Traore in a conversation exploring ecological stewardship, rest, and healing through ancestral and material pathways.
Ayesha Ali has been engaged in mindfulness practice and work for over twenty years sharing the liberation to be found in mindfulness with various organizations dealing with domestic violence and youth in under-resourced communities. Ayesha is also the founder of Heartwidth Mindfulness Community, one of the founders of the Heart Refuge Mindfulness Community for People of Color, a Dharma Teacher with the Insight Community of Washington, D.C., a teaching member of the IMCW Queer Sangha, and is the guiding teacher for the IMCW People of Color Sangha. Ayesha has also published articles in Lion’s Roar Magazine and Tricycle.
V Walton is a Maryland-based interdisciplinary artist and educator. Walton explores the wonder and complexity of Black identity, creating sculpture and video works that center the narratives of women and gender-expansive people. V draws from their own life: reflecting on the intersection of his identities, their chronic illness-disability, and queerness. Their work illustrates the societal and interpersonal dynamics that build and break us down simultaneously, making multi-layered connections between clay (terra), nature, and the body. They have an MFA in Ceramic Art from Alfred University and a BFA with a focus in ceramics from Towson University.