June Issue 2001
Artworks in Asheville, NC, Features Works by Tracey Schmidt
Artworks in Downtown Asheville, NC, will be hosting an exhibition of works by Tracey Schmidt entitled, The Awakening of Turtle Island, which will be on view from June 7 through July 5. The Awakening of Turtle Island is the first in a series of new monthly exhibitions featuring established and emerging artists at Artworks.
At age 19, Schmidt traveled to Japan to live in a Buddhist monastery. Her spiritual practices there awakened a desire to return to America in search of a tradition that was as authentic and indigenous in America as Buddhism had been for her in Japan. The Awakening of Turtle Island mirrors that search and represents a way to share with America something of what she has found among Native American culture.
Schmidt began her work with Native American people with the documentary films: Of Earth and Sky and the PBS docu-drama, Voices in the Wind. Her exhibit, The Awakening of Turtle Island: Portraits of Native America will be featured in a National Geographic documentary about photographers whose work exemplifies stewardship of the earth. She served as Assistant Director for the three-part series, Miracles of the Unknown, a video production about quantum physics, produced in Germany and in 1997, with the Atlanta Video Production Company, she produced Centerline, a pilot talk show series highlighting alternative educational approaches. Schmidt's photography has been exhibited and selected for the permanent collections of museums throughout the Southeast including: the Chieftain's Native American Museum, Rome, GA; the Thomasville Cultural Center, Thomasville, GA; the Spartanburg County Museum of Art; the University of Georgia; the Rheinhardt College Native American Museum, Waleska, GA and the Cherokee Museum of Native American Indians.
Schmidt writes in her artist statement: "Turtle Island is the name given by Native Americans to America and means the awakening of America. There is today a growing awareness of our delicate relationship with the environment and of the original Native Americans who view themselves as an integral part of nature and as its stewards. The Awakening of Turtle Island is a celebration of our common heritage with this country's indigenous citizens and a reminder of the importance of environmental awareness. Recently freed (1979) to worship as their ancestors did, Native Americans are undergoing their own cultural reawakening and reviving their bonds with nature. The exhibit documents this resurgence though extensive photographs of tribal elders, medicine men/women and the rising younger generation. As an American, I am proud to celebrate with you the beauty of an enduring people, still growing and longing to see Turtle Island be an example of spirit and earth in balance."
For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings or call the gallery at 828/252-8621.
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