Celebrate Brittany! – an exhibit of cultural and historic photos from Celtic Brittany will be presented by Jan Zollars beginning June 1 and will remain on view through July 28 at the Blowers Gallery in UNC Asheville’s Ramsey Library.
The exhibit, and a reception with the photographer at 6pm. Monday, June 20, are free and open to the public. The reception takes place the same evening as the season’s first Concert on the Quad, which begins at 7pm.
Zollars, who has been promoting Breton culture 29 years, will present her own photos of traditional dress, unique posters, and samples of handcrafted pottery and jewelry from the rugged northwest corner of France.
“When the conversation turns to all things Celtic, most Americans think of the people of Scotland and Ireland,” said Zollars. “Little do they know that they have cousins living along the western fringes of Europe, Wales, Isle of Man, Cornwall, Brittany, and Galicia and Asturias in Spain who make up the remnants of a once great Celtic nation. Each year, 5,000 performers from these areas gather at Festival Interceltique for an annual ‘family reunion,’ and 750,000 people join them for the ten-day celebration!“
Zollars, a native of Houston, was for 10 years the American representative for Festival Interceltique de Lorient and broadcast live radio programs from the festival to stations throughout the U.S. and Canada. She also wrote for Ouest France, a large French daily. In October, she will present a Breton dance workshop as part of Celtober at the Grey Eagle in Asheville.
Blowers Gallery is open during regular summer library hours, 7:45am-9pm. Monday-Thursday; 7:45am-6pm on Friday; and 1-9pm on Sunday. Ramsey Library is closed on Saturdays during the summer. For more information, visitlibrary.unca.edu.