Help Zangmo Fund Meditation and Art
ABOUT ZANGMO ALEXANDER www.zangmoalexander.com
Hi - My name is Zangmo Alexander, and I am an artist and meditator living in Botesdale, UK. For over 15 years I have been exploring and developing ways of integrating Art and Dharma. This has included my work as a Mindful Creativity Coach and Creative Art Tutor, helping others learn to discover, heal and express themselves authentically so they can live creatively in a wise and compassionate way. I also make paintings, drawings, monoprints, photographs and image/text exploring the mind and meditation. I see this as my life work. 
Image above: part of 'Woman of a Certain Age' project, https://www.zangmoalexander.com/woman-of-a-certain-age
If you'd like to know more about qualifications, I am a qualified art teacher and life coach, with a Masters Degree in Fine Art (distinction). I have recently been offered a place at Brighton University School of Art to do a PhD beginning in 2019 on Synthesising Meditation with Contemporary Art Practice. This PhD aims to deepen ways of integrating my own art and meditation practices, from which secular resources for educators, academic, meditators, artists and the general public will be developed. You can see my CV at https://www.zangmoalexander.com/resume/
I was a Buddhist nun from 2007-2014, and have been fortunate to have the opportunity to learn meditation with several wonderful masters in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition including Ato Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche since 1993.
WHAT I NEED SPONSORSHIP FOR
I was kindly given a scholarship to do a six month course "Dharma and Art: A Practice of Investigating Perception" at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Massachusetts, USA from June 2019-January 2019, https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/yearlong-programs/dharma-and-art/
This course includes two, one-week residencies at Barre Centre For Buddhist Studies in Barre, near Boston, Massachusetts, USA:
1. The first residency was from 8th-13th June 2018, (the funding for travel was kindly sponsored through crowd funding - thank you to all my kind sponsors :-)))))) )
2. The second residency, for which I now URGENTLY need travel funding, is from January 8th 2019 - January 13th 2019 in order to secure plane tickets at a reasonable price.
3. The online course component has been running from July 2018-December 2018 between the two residencies.
REASON FOR NEEDING SPONSORSHIP
I am on a very low income UK State Pension. Teaching work at present covers cost of overheads and materials for art practice, but not travel, project development and course costs.
Above image: detail from 'Meditation No.5, oil on canvas, https://www.zangmoalexander.com/abstract-paintings-spiritualart
Budget: I need funding of £1086 as follows by 30th October 2018:
Travel insurance for USA: £120
Return taxi Botesdale to Diss train station: £30
Return train travel Diss to Heathrow Airport: £83
One night accommodation at Heathrow: £60
Return flight London Heathrow to Boston USA: £563 (this is Economy Class. If there is any possibility of it happening, I would prefer something where I could sleep, as lack of sleep on the flights, jetlag and long hours on the course combined with medically diagnosed chronic fatigue caused much exhaustion on the previous residency!)
Return fare shuttle bus Boston to Barre (2 hour journey each way): £140
2 extra nights accommodation at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies: £90 (jet lag recovery and contingency for flight delays in January)
Who will benefit from my study with Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Dharma and Art Course
Others: I aim to use the outcomes from my personal meditation and art practices to develop resources for educators, academics, meditators, artists, therapists and the general public who wish to deeply integrate art and meditation in their own practices.
Myself: I aim to deepen my personal understanding and experience of integrating meditation practice with creativity and perception in my own practice
This 'Dharma and Art: A Practice of Investigating Perception' course for which I am seeking travel costs, would greatly support, enhance and help develop this research
What your support means to me
This would complete an amazing 6 month art and meditation course which has been both challenging and inspiring, and will greatly feed into the work I wish to develop benefiting others and myself. I really hope you can help and thank you in advance for your support for a project which could benefit many people.
Please see http://www.zangmoalexander.com for further details about myself and my work.
Acknowledgement: 'Be Still and Know' image in profile photograph is an original calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh
