You’re Invited: April 19 Moment of Reflection

Dear Bruin Community:

With spring quarter in full bloom and a new energy across our campus, we have so much to be thankful for and look forward to in the months ahead. At the same time, we also have much to reflect upon, now that it has been more than two years since COVID-19 turned our lives upside down and affected each of us in profound ways. Our recent past has also been marked by social struggles, natural disasters and even war.

Now that we are able to gather in person, I want to invite members of the campus to a special event — UCLA’s Moment of Reflection — which will bring us together to collectively process some of the difficulties we’ve endured, as well as build hope and connection that will serve our community well in the future. This event will be held on Tuesday, April 19 at 7 p.m. in the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden. For more details and to RSVP, please visit the registration page.

At the event, developed in partnership with UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture, we’ll have a short ceremony including the unveiling of a new, immersive art installation created specifically for our community by celebrated UCLA artist and alumnus Refik Anadol. I can think of no better medium through which to process the complexity of the challenges we’ve faced — and to ignite and inspire hope — than the arts. We are grateful to Refik for his generosity.

Even if you do not attend on the 19th, you can still visit and experience the installation in the Sculpture Garden from April 20 to 24.

I hope you will be able to join us in a few weeks, and that this will provide a meaningful recognition of the struggles we’ve faced and how our support for one another can help us through challenging times.