Williamstown, MA—Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) presents a talk "Photographs of Tibet 1987-1997"and a documentary film "Seven Days in Tibet" by Vermont-based photographer Kevin Bubriski. The program will highlight Bubriski's travels in Tibet, and it is presented in conjunction with WCMA's exhibitions Tibet: Mountains and Valleys, Castles and Tents and Sacred Art of Tibet: Making a Mandala. This event will take place in WCMA’s auditorium on Wednesday, May 14, 2003, at 5:30 p.m., and the public is invited to attend.

Extensive Travels in Himalayas

A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and Asian Cultural Council, Bubriski worked for nine years in Nepal and has photographed his extensive travels in Tibet, India, and Bangladesh. Bubriski’s work is in the permanent collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Museum of Modern Art, New York. His work has been exhibited worldwide, including at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian Institution, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Two Exhibitions of Tibetan Culture

Bubriski's presentation highlights WCMA’s two exhibitions of Tibetan culture. Tibet: Mountains and Valleys, Castles and Tents (through August 3, 2003) presents selections of Tibetan art, including official regalia, noble jewelry, castle furnishings, horse gear, and weapons. These objects, from the Newark Museum's collection, are shown in conjunction with photographs taken by some of the earliest Western visitors to Tibet, documenting the country's terrain and traditional lifestyles.

Two monks from the Namgyal Monastery, in residency during Sacred Art of Tibet: Making a Mandala (April 15-May 3, 2003), will create a mandala by painstakingly laying millions of grains of colored sand into place on a raised platform over a period of three weeks in WCMA's rotunda. The mandala is a tool used for re-consecrating the earth and its inhabitants. A sand dispersal ceremony with the monks will take place on Saturday, May 3 at 2 p.m.

Publicity Photographs Available

Copies of one of Bubriski's photographs is available for use. Publicity images for this event and other exhibitions can be found at www.wcma.org/press.

The Williams College Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible.

Contact: Jonathan Cannon, Public Relations Coordinator
413.597.3178; WCMA@williams.edu