FASCINATING AFRICA (for adventurous travelers)

612 Ocean Street,Santa Cruz CA 95060

01 June, 2023

Description

Join renowned safari leader and conservation photographer Shem Compion and local image maker Mark Overgaard, in their presentations for engaged and curious travelers on the power of photography to nurture Africa's natural world and empower Africa's peoples. Enjoy a popup exhibit drawn from Mark's 2nd generation Eloquent Suri of Ethiopia series on the walls of the auditorium throughout the evening. The first public exhibit of this work will have just closed in Cupertino. [06:30pm] Meet & greet: meet the speakers and your fellow attendees; browse the popup exhibit. [07:00pm] Talk 1: Uncharted Africa: exploration beyond the norm. While many visitors to Africa choose the ever-popular locations, there are a number of new destinations which are safe and accessible, but also offer glimpses into "another world". This is the Uncharted Africa that Shem will share with you. [7:45pm] Break. Additional opportunities to meet the speakers and your fellow attendees, browse the popup exhibit. Coffee and tea will be available. [08:15pm] Talk 2: Eloquent Suri of Ethiopia: People, Art, Culture, Language. In this presentation, Mark will introduce you to a very special and definitely less-frequented destination: deep southwest Ethiopia and the Suri people who live there. He’ll share arresting images of his Suri portrait collaborators and captivating stories of their culture, including their beautiful body painting with intricate patterns, using natural pigments ground from local rocks and mixed with water. Mark will give special emphasis to the recently launched Suri mother tongue education and literacy initiative, its importance to the Suri, current status, future plans and crucial needs. [08:45pm] Audience Q&A. [09:00pm] Individual & Small Group Discussion. About the speakersShem Compion has been photographing for over 23 years. His adventurous life has led him up numerous volcanos, he’s lived in a Landrover for 7 months and built specialised photographic hides, all in pursuit of images of relevance. He shares his passion and experiences with his guests, whom he guides to remote corners of Africa via C4 Photo Safaris. His images have been recognised and published globally and he co-produced an acclaimed documentary, “Zero to Zero”. To date, he has published 7 photography education and conservation books. A native of Africa, Shem is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. For more about Shem and his work, visit his website. Mark Overgaard is a retired technology executive who was born in Thailand of missionary parents, spoke Thai before English, and attended fifteen schools in five countries before college. After those peripatetic early years, Mark settled in California for his professional career. With retirement, he has resumed traveling the world, aiming to experience and record cultural and natural beauty, finding reverence within and beyond, envisioning our shared humanity and fragile natural world. For more about Mark and his work, visit his website, which covers his 1st generation Eloquent Suri project and previews his 2nd generation Eloquent Suri project, starting with the 9-minute short film about the project, which was co-produced by Mark and Shem.