The photographic exhibition “Silent Witness” is coming to USC Beaufort’s Center for the Arts beginning Oct. 3 and will run through Nov. 12.

“Silent Witness” is a profound and inspiring photographic-art collection that documents the power of healing between horses and humans – more especially through the alignment of retired military veterans with off-the-track veteran racehorses.

Through this remarkable body of work by photographer Shelly Marshall Schmidt, this message is captured and presented with breathtaking beauty, insight and impact.

Schmidt’s work represents years of photographing the connections between military veterans who are experiencing the unseen, silent wounds of post-traumatic stress, and off-the-track Thoroughbreds who can struggle with much the same internalized trauma – connections that have been enabled through a program known as Saratoga WarHorse.

Woven throughout the exhibition are the haunting words of writer, Marti Healy, who has also spent extensive commitment involved with this subject.

The Silent Witness exhibition premiered in Aiken in November 2018, where both the photographer and the writer are based, and where the Saratoga WarHorse program has a site on the grounds of Aiken Equine Rescue.

The Exhibition received such a tremendous response, that requests for it to be hosted at other locations, carrying its message and powerful influence to a wider audience, were immediate.

As a result, the creators of the exhibition are working with various opportunities on an individual basis; USCB Center for the Arts in Beaufort has been chosen as a compatible location.

In connection with the exhibition, this site has been selected to host a live, customized presentation relative to the work and the healing power of horses, provided by Marti Healy and Shelly Marshall Schmidt personally. This is a free, one-night-only event, which will launch the six-week public exhibition. Seating will be on a first-come basis.

Anyone associated with the military, equestrian, and arts communities, as well as the community of the greater Beaufort-area in general, should find this to be a highly significant, unique, and memorable experience.

All portraits in the Silent Witness exhibition will be available for purchase, with a portion of the sales supporting the USCB Center for the Arts.

<strong>Want to go?</strong>

What: Silent Witness: Through the lens of photographer Shelly Marshall Schmidt, with writer/presenter Marti Healy

When: Oct. 3-Nov. 12

Where: USCB Center for the Arts

Opening Event: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, wine and light refreshments followed by featured presentation by photographer Shelly Marshall Schmidt and with writer Marti Healy at 6:30 p.m. The event is free, and seating is limited.