Zangmo Alexander Artist Bio and CV
Biography

Growing up in Hove, UK in a Jewish family, attending a Christian grammar school and trying to make sense of several traumatic childhood experiences had the effect of stimulating a questioning spiritual search from the age of 11.
As a young adult with an interest in psychology, I worked in a psychiatric hospital where I also attended an inspiring staff art therapy group for six months. This led to art exhibitions and beginning to practise as a committed artist exploring the mind and inner experience as subject matter.
Seeing Mark Rothko's paintings at the Tate Modern and listening to Mahler's Resurrection Symphony conducted by Simon Rattle opened my mind to how the arts can reach beyond purely visual and aesthetic dimensions to be deeply transforming, healing, revealing, and spiritually awakening experiences. A new journey began exploring art, psychology and spirituality.
Studying BA Hons in Painting at Brighton University School of Art, I continued my spiritual search across world traditions, exploring Jewish Quabbalah, Hinduism, and esoteric Christianity, also travelling to India and Nepal. Deeply inspired by abstract expressionists Agnes Martin, Jackson Pollock and Richard Pousette-Dart as well as Paul Klee, Bill Viola, Richard Tuttle and Kandinsky, my art work became abstract as I searched for ways to make visible experience beyond superficial physical appearance.
After completing my BA, I was invited to show at the Fresh Art Fair at the Business Design Centre in London and to hold a solo exhibition at Horsham Arts Centre in the UK. I began formal Buddhist study and meditation, and am so grateful to have been able to train with real spiritual masters, mainly in the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu/Nyingma traditions.
For two years I also studied traditional Tibetan thangka painting with two nuns. Although a beautiful art form, I felt drawn to investigate ways of integrating meditation and fine art art practices in a contemporary western context. This led me to study for an Masters Degree in Fine Art, focusing on exploring ways of integrating art and meditation, creating a short video 'Letter to My Mum' for my final exhibition. Following this, I was an ordained Buddhist nun for seven years.
Interest in my work led to being invited as a speaker by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy for their conference, Buddha Mind - Creative Mind? and Channel 4 TV 4Thought programme. Dr Mick Collins also discussed my work in his book, The Unselfish Spirit, following seeing The Stripper, a one hour play about my life and work devised in collaboration with director Pema Clark, and performed at the University of East Anglia, UK.
Deepening explorations of meditation and art have led to recently receiving a scholarship from Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts, USA to participate in their six month course Dharma and Art - A Practice of Investigating Perception which included two week-long residencies.
I currently live and work in beautiful Botesdale, a rural village near Diss, Suffolk UK, where I am engaged on developing a new body of work as part of a project with the working title Awakening Through Creativity.
CV
Education and Professional Training
-
Masters Degree Fine Art (Distinction), Norwich University of Arts
-
BA Hons Fine Art Painting (2.1), commendation in Art History, University of Brighton
-
Diploma in Coaching (Distinction), UK Coaching Partnership
-
Post Graduate Certificate in Education, University of Cambridge
(fully qualified art and photography teacher) -
7307 Further & Adult Teaching Certificate, University of Brighton
-
8 week Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, University of Bangor
-
Mahamudra Meditation Courses/Retreats in Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu Tradition
-
Dharma and Art, six month course, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Massachusetts
Exhibitions
-
Transference, Halesworth Gallery, Suffolk
-
The Stripper, (Collaboration with Pema Clark), University of East Anglia
-
Luminograms: Camera-less Photography by Zangmo Alexander,
Beyond the Image Photographers Gallery -
Work in Progress, Meeting House, Diss
-
Buddha Mind - Creative Mind, Institute of Oriental Philosophy, Taplow Court
-
MFA Show, Fine Art, Norwich University of the Arts
-
Faith and the Art Multifaith Art Exhibition, Arts Council England
-
‘Journeys’, Paintings and Prints, Harleston
-
‘Lotus in Flower’, Cambridge
-
‘Lyrical Abstraction’, Michaelhouse Gallery, Cambridge
-
John Innes Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich
-
Horsham Arts Centre solo exhibition
-
Norfolk and Norwich Open Studio
-
Suffolk Open Studio
-
Brighton Art Fair
-
Fresh Art Fair, Business Design Centre, London
-
BA Fine Art Show, Brighton School of Art
-
University of Brighton Art Gallery
-
Brighton Library
-
Brighton Centre
-
Eastbourne Library
-
Fox’s Gallery, London
-
The Arthouse, Leeds
Invited Speaker and Papers
-
4Thought, Channel 4 Television Broadcast: Can Art Make You Believe? talk
-
Buddha Mind - Creative Mind Conference: Art and Meditation Practice talk
-
Buddhism and the Arts, commissioned paper for arts organisations on the relationship between Art and Buddhism for Arts Council England
Publication
-
Alexander, L., (2009), Women’s wisdom: natural wellness strategies for the menopause years (Findhorn)
-
Collins, Mick, (2014), The unselfish spirit: human evolution in a time of global crisis, Hampshire: Permanent Publications.
Work in Collections, Residencies
-
Imperial Health Charity Art Collection
-
Private Collections USA and Europe
-
Artist in Residence, Michelham Priory, Sussex
-
Dharma and Art Course, two residencies, Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies, USA
Awards, Scholarships, Residencies
-
MOFSA project development grant
-
Scholarship for Dharma and Art course and two residencies, Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies, Massachusetts USA
-
MOFSA travel grant
-
Norfolk Visual Art Fund Award
-
DEFRA award for website design
-
South Norfolk Council award for business development
Lecturing, Tutoring, Creativity Coaching
-
Mindful Creativity Coach, private practice
-
Meditation Teacher, private practice
-
Art and Photography Tutor, one-to-one and group
-
GCSE and A Level Art and Photography Tutor, private practice
-
Director of Full Moon Images, publishing art prints
-
Director of Rainbow Arts, offering Art, Craft and Photography for hard to reach members of the community, the elderly, mental health, social services staff, women's groups, children's holiday workshops
-
Visiting Lecturer in Painting, Brighton University at Eastbourne College of Art and Technology
-
Creative Studies Lecturer, Eastbourne College of Art and Technology
-
Art Certificate Lecturer, Brighton University
-
Facilitator of women's art groups for self awareness, personal development, self expression and stress management
-
Responsibility for entire Art and Design Technology Curriculum, primary school Norfolk
Personal Development | CPD
-
Back to Beginnings, Tara Rokpa
-
Bioenergetics Therapy, Brighton
-
Spiritual Psychotherapy, Tunbridge Wells
-
Personal Jungian Art Therapy and Psychotherapy
-
Regular meditation courses and retreats
-
Ordination as a nun in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition 2007-2014
-
Art and meditation short courses