By: Brelin Tilford

The Muhammad Ali Center is working to bring greater global awareness to Louisville through its humanitarian initiatives.  In October, the center launched its inaugural Humanitarian Awards, and plans for the 2014 award presentations are underway.   They are bringing a host of impressive and influential people to the Louisville community.  The work doesn’t stop there, however.   They also are staging temporary cultural exhibits at the Center.  This month, Visions of Tibet, an collection of photographs from the talented photographer Sonam Zoksang, are on display.

Sonam Zoksang has worked as photographer to His Holiness the Dalai Lama  for more than 20 years.  His images depict life in Tibet as well as the oppression that Tibetan people face with China’s control over the land.  Poignantly captured in the photographs are numerous Tibetan citizens, both those within the country and those outside its borders.

Zoksang grew up in Tibet under Chinese rule. His passion for photography was developed at a young age when he was forced to attend a refugee school.   His photographs depict the struggles Tibetans faced during this period of drastic change to their culture and their way of life.  The exhibit highlights the importance of community preservation and identity that can easily be taken for granted.   When religion and tradition are removed from a society, damage is caused to the very underlying blueprint of that society; cultural identities are lost and moral strength is challenged.

Sonam Zoksang’s exhibit documents these cultural issues and sheds light on the social and political problems that many people fail to understand or learn from within our global society.  Visions of Tibet specifically highlights two of the Center’s focus areas: education and global citizenship, as identified by Donald Lassere, President and CEO of The Ali Center

The Ali Center brings culture and global awareness to the people of Louisville and plans future exhibits in the coming months.

For more information visit them on the web at http://www.alicenter.org/exhibits-galleries.