Join the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society for a virtual program on Zoom Tuesday, September 20, 7 p.m. EDT as we learn from Stephen Alvarez, creator of the Ancient Art Archive (https://www.ancientartarchive.org/),  about the Mural of America project. Stephen is an amazing photographer who uses photography, videography, and 3-D imagery to document indigenous art from native cultures all over the world.

Co-sponsored by Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning and the UT Arboretum Society, Alvarez will explain the Mural of America project that explores ten North American cultural landmarks illuminating the complex artistic mysteries of the past. Alvarez and the Ancient Art Archive’s extraordinary team of anthropologists, archaeologists, and Native American artists are exploring the ten sites’ artistic wonders, the rich cultures that gave birth to them, and how they remain meaningful today. Their work is still in progress on most of the sites, but their work at Tennessee’s  Devilstep Hollow Cave is complete and ready for all of us to experience.

An award-winning National Geographic photographer, film maker and explorer who produces global stories about exploration, adventure, culture and archeology, Alvarez has published over a dozen feature stories in National Geographic. The magazine has sent him from the highest peaks in the Andes to the depths of the deepest cave in the world. His latest National Geographic story on the Origins of Art led from early human sites on the southern coast of Africa to Paleolithic art caves in France and Spain. Moved by the power of humanity’s earliest artworks, Alvarez founded The Ancient Art Archive in 2016. The Archive is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to using the photography and the newest image-based VR technology to preserve and share humanity’s oldest artworks. Stephen lives with his family in Sewanee, Tennessee.

The program is free, but registration is required to receive your link. Register at www.utarboretumsociety.org.  This program will be recorded, and closed captioning is available. Please note this program is scheduled on Eastern time. Please contact UT Arboretum Education Coordinator, Michelle Campanis, at mcampani@utk.edu with any questions or registration issues.

The Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2014, is one of ten outdoor laboratories located throughout the state as part of the UT AgResearch system. AgResearch is a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the UT Herbert College of Agriculture, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension offices, with locations in every county in the state.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society or for questions on this program, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org