Heritage Foundation Announces “The Art Beneath Our Feet” Warwick Lecture Series Event on February 28th
National Geographic photographer Stephen Alvarez to discuss documenting cave artwork throughout the Southern U.S.
FRANKLIN, TN (February 6, 2023) – The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County’s Education and Preservation Department announces that its first Warwick Lecture Series event for 2023 will be Stephen Alvarez’ “The Art Beneath Our Feet: The journey to discovering that the largest cave art in the Americas is here in the Southern United States.” This free event will be held at The Franklin Theatre on Tuesday, February 28th at 6:00 PM, advance registration is required at www.WilliamsonHeritage.org/events.
Presentation Overview
Why are people artists? And what do the first artworks tell us about ourselves? Those questions have guided National Geographic photographer Stephen Alvarez on a decade-long quest to understand art’s biological origins and how it connects our past to our present.
His journey has taken him from the southern coast of Africa, where humans first begin making paint over 100,000 years ago, to the discovery of the America’s largest cave artworks right here in the South.
According to Mr. Alvarez, discovering the Americas’ largest cave artwork with 3D modeling was “like magic. Here is this thing that has been invisible for 1,000-plus years that has suddenly come to life. Even though the people were removed, their stories are still here.”
About Stephen Alvarez
Stephen Alvarez’s journey has taken him from the southern coast of Africa, where humans first begin making paint over 100,000 years ago, to the discovery of the America’s largest cave artworks right here in the South.
Alvarez is an internationally acclaimed National Geographic photographer who produces global stories about exploration, adventure, culture, and archeology. He has published over a dozen feature stories in National Geographic Magazine. 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 him 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 a non-profit dedicated to using the newest image-based VR technology to digitally preserve and share them with everyone, everywhere. Stephen’s images have won awards in Pictures of the Year International and Communication Arts and have been exhibited at Visa Pour L’Image in Perpignan, France. Recent appearances include NPR, PBS, and CBS Saturday Morning, and recent press coverage includes articles in The New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, Antiquity, and CNN. Stephen is a frequent speaker, consultant, and commenter on how new photographic technology is changing the world.
This Warwick Lecture Series presentation is in partnership with Ancient Art Archive. The Heritage Foundation’s Warwick Lecture Series, named in honor of County Historian Rick Warwick, makes four annual lectures available to the public. To learn more and to register, visit https://williamsonheritage.org/event/warwick-lecture-series-the-art-beneath-our-feet/.
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ABOUT THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY
Since 1967, the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County has been dedicated to preserving Williamson County’s architectural, geographic and cultural heritage as well as promoting the ongoing revitalization of downtown Franklin in the context of historic preservation. Notable projects include The Franklin Theatre, Roper’s Knob, parts of the Franklin battlefield and the Old, Old Jail. Events and festivals produced by the Heritage Foundation such as Main Street Festival, the Heritage Ball, PumpkinFest and Dickens of a Christmas bring an estimated 300,000+ locals and visitors to downtown Franklin each year that creates more than a $10 million dollar economic impact annually. The Heritage Foundation owns and operates The Franklin Theatre, Downtown Franklin Association, Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens, and its newest historic adaptive reuse project: The History & Culture Center of Williamson County. For more information about the Heritage Foundation, visit www.williamsonheritage.org.
