News Release
Tulsa Photographer Captures A Moment In Time
Sept. 10, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
Oklahoma City, OK – Through M. Teresa Valero’s photographs of boys herding sheep over dirt roads, women caring for their children and men selling beans and spices in open air markets, she has created a travelogue of images inspired by her interest in the social, religious and economic realities of life in the countries she has explored.
Valero’s exhibit The Levant: Lebanon and Syria Through Western Eyes will be on display in the first floor of the North Gallery at the State Capitol through October 28th. Curated by the Oklahoma Arts Council, the North Gallery is devoted to Oklahoma’s finest photographers and is open daily from 8:30-5:00.
“The Levant” is the name for the group of countries that border the eastern Mediterranean Sea - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Turkey and part of Egypt. Valero said she chose the name as the title for her exhibit because it “so aptly expresses the paradox that emerged for me from the scenes and faces I captured.”
Since 2002, she has been traveling to Lebanon and Syria and considered herself a sort of anthropological observer. “Like the sun that will always rise just as it has since time began, everyday chores and habits have not changed for centuries. Eventually all these scenes, occurrences and confluences of visual stimuli engaged me, and my camera brought me closer to the subjects of my curiosity. My hope is that I will be able to keep documenting these vital yet ancient societies.” She explained that although the peoples of the region are diverse, they possess a shared history stretching back millennia.
Valero, a native of Venezuela, is an Applied Associate Professor of Art, Graphic Design at The University of Tulsa where she is the Director of the School of Art. She is co-founder and Creative Director of Third Floor Designs, a student-run design studio that provides high-quality design services for nonprofit organizations in Tulsa and surrounding areas. In 2001 she was awarded an outstanding teaching award by The University of Tulsa, and again in 2003 by the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences at TU. In 2007 Valero received the Pinnacle Award for the Arts and Humanities presented by the Women Foundation and the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women.
In addition to her teaching duties, she works as a photographer and graphic designer, winning many awards in advertising and design. Her photographs have been exhibited around the United States as well as overseas and she has curated many exhibitions. She is a past and current president of Art Directors Club of Tulsa and an active member of the Tulsa arts community. She is a board member of the Performing Arts Center Trust, the YWCA of Tulsa, Living Arts of Tulsa, the Hispanic Affairs Commission for the City of Tulsa, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) on the Cross-cultural Design, and contributes to many local community and arts organizations.
Valero graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and Art History, and later received a master's degree in Art History. She lives in Tulsa with her husband Ghayth Coussa and her son Valerio.
For more information, contact Ann Dee Lee, Public Relations Director, Oklahoma Arts Council, (405) 521-2931 or anndee@arts.ok.gov.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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