BA in Individualized Studies Program
As an interdisciplinary artist, educator and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism I am deeply interested in the experience of cultivating a conversation between the seen and the unseen, of noticing in and noticing out. This integration of the spiritual, the physical, the emotional and the intellectual is what characterizes my life and my teaching.
My curiosity is ignited by blending seemingly unrelated disciplines in an investigation and I love to work with students in this way. My own education has journeyed through many different disciplines – engineering, business administration, sociology, environmental studies, dance and visual art. From this smorgasbord of learning experiences I have developed a broad range of learning approaches.
I strongly believe that effective learning has to allow space for personal reflection. This kind of reflection might look, to some, like wasted time. But I believe that we need to develop a stomach for this and to recognize the difference between being idle and being lazy. It takes courage to be a learner – at any stage of the learning process. Opening into the unknown is terrifying for most humans and learning is frequently not comfortable. Staying with the feeling of uncertainty and finding ways to nourish curiosity – that’s where I think really powerful learning happens. I have a grounding in traditional quantitative analysis, and it is my experience that by including quantitative as well as qualitative methods of investigation a learner can examine complex systems in a holistic way. I came to artmaking relatively late in my career and I have a soft spot for working with students who are just beginning to open to this kind of creative process.
In my artistic practice I work with materials, words, and movement. I paint, make prints, dance and write. I rarely feel strong boundaries between one form and another in my artistic practice. My areas of interest these days include the intersection of contemplative practice and artistic practice, GBLT issues, and the body’s role in the creative process.
I love to be active and am fortunate enough to live by the ocean in Nova Scotia where I can hike along the rocky coast with my doggie every day.
To see examples of my visual artwork please visit my website.
Educational Background: MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts, Goddard College; MES in Environmental Studies, York University; BA in Sociology, York University.
|
Annie Abdalla, MFA, MES