In this interview, I speak with Suma Gowda about the nondual tradition in Christianity and my work in art and theology.
Arthur Aghajanian writes on visual culture as a Christian contemplative. His essays explore the ways images help us understand deeper truths in our shared human experience, and have appeared in numerous magazines and journals.
After many years of study and practice in Eastern traditions, Arthur found his way back to Christianity with his discovery of the mystical tradition. Through writing he brings together his passion for art history with his ongoing study of the great religious traditions of both East and West. His work is committed to the idea that the study of images in both popular culture and art history through a contemplative lens provides support for those on the spiritual path.
Arthur earned his B.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University, after which he moved to Los Angeles, attending California Institute of the Arts and later receiving his M.F.A. from Otis College of Art and Design. For several years he exhibited his art nationally and wrote on contemporary art and culture.
Arthur holds multiple teaching credentials, applying innovative pedagogy as an art educator for over twenty years. He has designed and implemented over a dozen visual arts courses, as well as teaching mindfulness to high school students.
He is a member of The Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art (ASCHA) and Architecture Culture and Spirituality Forum (ACSF), and formerly a member of Arts Religion Culture (ARC). He is currently part of the Los Angeles Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society through Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, California. In the spring of 2020, Arthur created Contemplatives in Conversation (CIC), a gathering he facilitates online in The Meditation Chapel, supplemented by his Facebook group of the same name. In 2022 he began CIC as an in-person ministry at St. Mel's Catholic Church in Los Angeles. By providing Christian contemplatives a support community for study, reflection, and discussion, the goal of CIC in each of its forms is personal transformation through sharing and the meaningful application of spiritual principles to everyday life.
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