Even as China emerges as a global economic leader, adding more hotels, highways, and airports turning landscapes into cityscapes, there are still some places holding on to their history—for now. The people living in the area formerly known as Chinese Turkestan, the Xinjiang Province, continue to carry on their culture. They are herdsmen, farmers, skilled craftsmen and shop owners, who buy and sell animals and fuel made from animal waste at former Silk Road trading posts, go to mosque, and watch cock-fighting competitions in the local marketplace.

Ryan Pyle, a PDN award-winning photographer, set out in 2006 to capture the images that reveal Turkestan as it exists today. He calls this vast expanse of deserts and mountains a place that has “seemingly always been at a crossroads between cultures and time,” because for centuries criminals, holy men, and traders alike traversed Chinese Turkestan’s Silk Road. Originally from Canada but based in Shanghai, China, he sees urbanization as a threat to this region’s history. Pyle, a regular contributor to The New York Times believes it is vital to record the cultural diversity that still exists since he has seen the traditions of Chinese Turkestan slowly fade into the official Xinjiang Province since he moved to China in 2002.

Opening Reception at Kaviar Gallery on Friday, September 30 from 6-9 pm during F.A.T Friday Trolley Hop

"Canadian Invasion"

     *Reception at Kaviar Gallery on Saturday, October 22 1-4 pm

     *Lecture with Ryan Pyle, Barrie Wentzel, Russell Monk at Mellwood Art Center on Sunday October 23 from 11:30 am-1:45 pm tickets available for pre-order or at the door

     *Special Opening at Kaviar Gallery on Sunday, October 23 from 2-4 pm

The Photo Biennial, Louisville’s premier photographic festival, is set to take place throughout the city during the month of October. Embracing local, national and international photography, workshops, symposia, public discussions and more than 30 exhibitions city-wide, the Photo Biennial will celebrate artistic excellence in this rich and diverse medium. The Photo Biennial represents a cooperative effort among local museums, galleries, universities and other public venues to give viewers the opportunity to learn about and to appreciate photography, spanning its history to the present, and from the local to the global.