Contact: Tibetan Rights Campaign (206) 547-1015

TIBETAN PORTRAIT BENEFIT PREVIEW FOR TIBET

Santa Monica, September 26, 1996

The G Ray Hawkins Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of the work of Phil Borges whose photographic essay TIBETAN PORTRAITS: THE POWER OF COMPASSION is a beautiful, heartfelt presentation of the Tibetan people's commitment to compassion and their ongoing struggle with religious and political oppression, opening on September 27 and continuing through November 2nd.

On Thursday, September 26th the Gallery will host a fundraising event to benefit the Tibetan Rights Campaign. The Benefit Preview Reception will be held from 6pm - 9pm. The program will begin at 7pm and will include hosted reception, slide program by Phil Borges and live Tibetan entertainment. There will also be a booksigning of his book TIBETAN PORTRAITS: THE POWER OF COMPASSION with text by the Dalai Lama, epilogue by Elie Wiesel.

TIBETAN PORTRAITS: THE POWER OF COMPASSION is an exhibition about this uniquely spiritual culture's struggle to survive. These haunting portraits of the Tibetan people capture the faces and stories of a few of the many Tibetans who have suffered at the hands of the Chinese regime to deepen their spiritual practice. Here are riveting portraits of men, women and children from nomads of the remote Himalayas to the Dalai Lama himself.

Proceeds from this Preview will benefit the Tibetan Rights Campaign (TRC), a non-profit human rights organization which collaborated with the photographer, Phil Borges in this exhibit and book project. The TRC works to focus international attention on the current conditions in Tibet and to advocate the Tibetan people's struggle for human rights, democracy and independence.

For further information on the Benefit Preview, contact the Tibetan Rights Campaign at (206) 547-1015 or check out the TRC Events Web Site at .