KENNEBUNK - Heartwood College of Art President Berri Kramer is presenting a photographic exhibition from her recent trip to KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, in the Heartwood Gallery through Oct. 21.
The exhibition, entitled "Ushomi," displays Kramer's work taken during the artist's third Rotary-sponsored trip to South Africa.
Kramer's latest book, "Mbali's Bracelets," is about a young South African girl who makes a surprise gift to express her gratitude to her grandmother for her efforts to keep her safe. Mbali and her brother and sister are orphans who must work every day to maintain their family life despite incredible losses. Though a work of fiction, Kramer's story reflects the plight of more than 2 million South African children living in child-headed households, many of them orphans resulting from the AIDS epidemic.
It is the resilience of the South African people, especially the women and children in families stricken by the AIDS epidemic, that affects Kramer so deeply and that she captures with her camera. Her affinity with the people that she has photographed, and their openness to her, are reflected in "Ushomi," which appropriately means "friend."
Kramer earned her Master of Arts degree from Lesley University and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kent State University in design and crafts. She also studied at the City and Guild Art School of London and the University of London.
For 18 years, she was a designer for Better Homes and Gardens and extensively explored color theory through quilt-making. She has been a photo journalist on four medical missions with Rotaplast, an organization that provides free surgery for children with cleft lips. She has traveled to Bolivia, Venezuela and the Philippines and is the author of "Answered Prayers," the story of the first trip to Cochabama, Bolivia, in 2000.
For more information about the Heartwood "Ushomi" exhibition, please call 985-0985 or visit www.heartwoodcollegeofart.org. Heartwood is located at 123 York St., Route 1, in Kennebunk.
