ATLANTA - The Oglethorpe University Museum of Art is proud to host Portals to Shangri-La: Masterpieces from Buddhist Mongolia, celebrating the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Mongol Empire by Genghis Khan. The exhibition will run at Oglethorpe from February 12 through August 6, 2006.

The opening ceremony for the exhibition will be held Sunday, February 12, 2006, at 4:00 p.m. in Lupton Auditorium on the Oglethorpe University campus. The program will include the official installation ceremony of the Honorary Consul of Mongolia and music by Mongolian musicians and will be attended by Mongolian Ambassador Ravdan Bold, Zanabazar Mongolia National Fine Arts Museum Director Batdorj Damdensuren, exhibition curator Glenn Mullin and Oglethorpe President Larry Schall. A reception and viewing of the exhibition at the museum will follow.

The exhibition, which brings Mongolia’s Buddhist masterpieces to the West, was created by Glenn Mullin with the support of Khaidav Mijidiin, chief conservator of the Zanabazar Mongolia National Fine Arts Museum. The exhibition focuses on Mongolia’s image as a portal to the mystical land of Shambala, the source of James Hilton’s concept of Shangri-La. These works by Mongolian masters are considered to be tunnels or portals to a higher reality.

The Oglethorpe University Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon until 5:00 p.m. for the exhibition, but will be closed May 4-5 and July 1-9. Docent tours are given every Sunday beginning at 2:00 p.m. Admission to the museum is $5 (free for members). For more information, visit the museum’s website at www.oglethorpe.edu (keyword: museum) or call 404-364-8555.

For a musical experience, join us for Music in the Museum at 7:30 p.m. on February 21, March 21 and May 18. This series will feature jazz, world and classical musicians in the intimate and beautiful setting of the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art. Tickets for Music in the Museum are $15 ($10 for museum members).