ROSEBURG, Ore., October 26, 2022 — Umpqua Community College will host an Endangered Alphabet Art Exhibit at the campus library to spotlight languages that are in danger of extinction.
The exhibit features languages in the form of wood script carvings, curated by Dr. Tim Brookes of the Endangered Alphabets Project. Dr. Brookes has worked to preserve often ancient languages all over the world and has recently engaged with Native American tribes in Canada, Vermont and New York. His work also includes collaborations with tribal nations such as the Cree, Ojibwe, Inuktitut, Cherokee and Osage.
Dr. Brookes’ mission is to play an active role in preserving endangered cultures by using their writing systems to create artwork and educational materials.
According to his website, www.endangeredalphabets.com, half of the world’s estimated 6,000 to 7,000 languages will be extinct by the end of the century, while 85 percent are considered endangered.
The exhibit will be featured at the UCC library from November 1 through 9. Dr. Brookes will be on campus for a lecture on his research on November 9 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Both the lecture and exhibit are free and open to the public.
About Tim Brookes
Tim Brookes was born in England and educated at Oxford before he moved to the United States in 1980. An editor, guitarist, teacher, soccer coach and author of 17 books and numerous articles and essays, he founded the Endangered Alphabets Project in 2010 with his first exhibition of carvings in indigenous and minority scripts. Since then, the Endangered Alphabets have been seen all over the world, and he has spoken about the cultural importance of writing at more than 150 colleges, universities, libraries, museums, and galleries including Cambridge, Yale, Harvard, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. He has worked with a wide range of cultures to create games and educational materials for teaching indigenous scripts, and he is the author of Endangered Alphabets, The Atlas of Endangered Alphabets, and Endangered Alphabets Word Search Puzzles. He lives on the shores of Lake Champlain.
About Umpqua Community College
Nestled in the beautiful North Umpqua River Valley, Umpqua Community College is the regional center for higher education in Douglas County, Oregon. UCC provides high quality college degree programs, workforce development, and community learning opportunities. For more information, please visit us online at www.umpqua.edu.