Where Earth Meets Sky: A Celebration of Mongolia's Cultural Legacy

WHO: The Zuraach Collective (seven college students who lived and studied in Mongolia)

WHAT: Where Earth Meets Sky: A Celebration of Mongolia's Cultural Legacy

WHEN: On view through March 17, Opening celebration on Sunday, February 12, 6 - 9 pm, including throat singing, morin huur playing, folk dancing, and an on-site painting demonstration by Mongolian artists.

WHERE: The Creative Research Lab @ Flatbed Press, 2830 E MLK Jr. Blvd, Austin, Texas, 78702, 512.322.2099

COST: Free

The Zuraach Collective presents: Where Earth Meets Sky: A Celebration of Mongolia's Cultural Legacy (zur aach zur ach n [Mongolian dial Khalkh] 1: artist a: photographer b: painter)

AUSTIN, TX - In the autumn of 2004, a diverse group of intrepid American college students, including Austinite Ashley St. Clair, 23, journeyed to the wilds of Mongolia to live with nomadic families to study and document a culture, but their adventures took them far beyond the reaches of their imaginations.

Plunged into a world of mystical shamans, forbidden mountains, and yak stampedes, these young explorers found their places in a culture rich in tradition and very much in touch with its history. Suffering from the mutton and dairy diet, saddle sores from seemingly endless hours on horseback, and the merciless Mongolian winter, these seven young people overcame the trials of their environment to achieve the greater goal of discovery and understanding. Ultimately, they slept in crowded felt yurts, herded roving livestock, and butchered dinner alongside their Mongolian siblings and parents-and learned to love it.

Featuring the work of:

• Ashley St. Clair

• Angela Valek

• Lily Stockman

• Dean Clift

• Evan Buxbaum

• Stacy Hayashi

• Dustin Saldarriaga

• Nicholas Kroshus

Opening Celebration

The public is invited to join The Zuraach Collective in a showcase of photographs, film, paintings, and opening night performances including throat singing, morin huur playing, folk dancing, and an on-site painting demonstration by Mongolian artists. Created by seven Americans who lived and studied in Mongolia, The Zuraach Collective presents a night of visual art media and presentations featuring Mongolia's religious and spiritual history, popular culture, politics, and the country's age-old nomadic tradition.

For more information, contact Ashley St. Clair at 512.299.6952.