DIA Annual Meeting Highlights the Contemplative Artist

CONVENT STATION, NJ -- The annual gathering of the Dominican Institute for the Arts, (DIA) will take place this year at Xavier Center, Convent Station, NJ, July 15 - 18, 2009. This year’s event, dedicated to The Contemplative Artist, will open with a day of reflection facilitated by acclaimed theologian/performing artist, Kathleen Deignan, CND. 

The Sweet Songs of Living Things: The Contemplative Artist and the Recovery of Paradise will be the focus of the twelfth annual gathering.

Currently Founding Director of the Iona Institute of Spirituality, Kathleen Deignan celebrates and serves with colleagues from the Jewish, Celtic, Greek Orthodox, Mennonite, and Zen traditions. A long-time Merton scholar, she has composed and recorded over twenty haunting musical settings for the wisdom of the mystics. As a GreenFaith Fellow, she is now implementing “The Great Work Project: Resources for Transforming the Ecological Vision and Practice of the Catholic Community.”

An MA in the History of Christian Spirituality and her Ph.D. in Historical Theology opened Deignan to the beauty of the Shaker religion. Studying under Thomas Berry endowed her with an ardor for eco-feminism. Post-doctoral study took her to Asia, Mexico, and the Soviet Union where sharing diverse experiences of God enriched her own.

Following Deignan’s opening retreat day, DIA artists will enjoy workshops in watercolor, music, film, and magic. The event will culminate in an evening of entertainment featuring a Virtual Gallery of members’ works and performances by vocalists Dominic DeLay OP and Jean Paul Fave OP, actor Nancy Murray OP and magician Daniel Rolland OP.

For Annual Gathering registration information contact
Liz Sully OP at 404-733-6594 or sullyop@aol.com

For Reflection Day registration information contact
Jude Bloch OP at 616-774-0843 or jubloch@aol.com