Born
and educated in Switzerland, Peter emigrated to the United States in 1978.
Executive Director of Crealdé since 1995, he previously served as the school's
Director of Photography. His extensive teaching experience includes
award-winning outreach programs in under-served communities. He is a past member
of the summer teaching faculty at Penland School for Arts and Crafts in North
Carolina and Arrowmont School of Arts and
Crafts in Tennessee. Since 1980 his black and white landscape and
documentary photography has been included in more than 100
one-person, juried,
and invitational exhibitions across the United States and Switzerland.
As an active
member of the Society for Photographic Education, he has been a presenter
at their regional and national conferences.
In addition, he is a frequent
lecturer, juror and conductor of photographic tours throughout America
and Europe.
Peter has served on review panels locally as well as for the state of Florida, evaluating grant applications from individual
artists and arts organizations.
Artist's Statement
"As a young person growing up in Switzerland, I rebelled against the
lack of changes in my home country; I found the age-old traditions stifling and
limiting. In America, everything seemed possible! There were fewer restrictions
on ones dreams. I was taken by the differences between my home and this new
place; the American people’s pioneering spirit, willingness to adapt and to
embrace the new. While I am still fascinated by the constantly changing
character of America’s culture, I have also come to learn its price tag:
uprooted communities, environmental destruction, out of control development and
sprawl, and a lack of respect for the past—all resulting in a feeling of
disconnect in many of its communities. As an American photographer with Swiss
roots, I am interested in places, people, and communities that convey a sense of
cultural identity, history, and heritage. I never tire of exploring rural
Florida, the historic African American neighborhoods, the continually forming
immigrant communities, the wide-open spaces of the West, and small towns all
across America. I hope that my work will establish more than a photographic
record, but will motivate others to become more aware of, to respect, and to
explore their own community’s history and heritage."
Peter Schreyer
Winter Park, Florida, February 2006
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Safari Room, Langford Resort Hotel
Winter Park, Florida, 2000
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Mr. Jim Wright, owner and restorer of
historic commercial buildings on Wright's Corner, Deland, Florida, 2001 |
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Selected
Exhibitions
"Where Two Roads Meet"
Two-artist exhibition with Rick Lang.
The Museum of Florida Art & Culture at the South Florida Community College, Avon
Park, FL
October 1 to November 21, 2008
"Symbiotic Relationships," An
exploration of the personal stories of seven foreign-born artists who make
Central Florida their home.
Terrace Gallery, City Hall, Orlando, FL
September 18, 2006 to January 7, 2007
"Where Two Roads Meet"
Two-artist exhibition with Rick Lang.
The Art Center, St. Petersburg, Florida, 2005
"A Shared Legacy: Documentary Photography of
Florida from the 1930s and Today"
A state-wide traveling exhibition
2004 to 2006
"Beneath the Surface:
Sixth
Annual Photo Competition"
Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle,
2001
"The 2000 National Photography
Competition"
Soho Photo Gallery,
New York, N.Y., 2001
"Florida's Lingering Past:
A
Change of Character"
Solo Show, Harris House, Atlantic Center of the Arts,
New Smyrna Beach, Florida, 1993
Photo-Forum Gallery, Solo Show,
Biel-Bienne, Switzerland, 1985
Catskill Center for Photography,
Solo
Show, Woodstock,
N.Y., 1985
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Books
We the People... of Orange
County
Public art project of environmental portraits
and oral histories,
co-author with
Rick Lang, 1999
Small Town Orange County
A public art project,
co-author
with Rick Lang, 1998
A Sense of Place: Winter
Park, Florida
A collection of 65 photographs
with text by Bernadine Clark, 1992
Grants and Awards Highlights
Arts Educator of the Year 2009
United Arts of Central Florida
United Arts Professional
Development Grant,
2003 and 2005
Visual Arts Fellowship Grant Award,
State of Florida, 1993/94
Rhea Marsh and Dorothy Lockhart Smith
Winter Park History Research Grant,
Winter Park Public Library, 1995
Public
Collections
"Art in Public Places" program, permanent
display of environmental portraits of local residents, Volusia County Courthouse, Deland, Florida
"Winter Park's West Side: A
Living History of
Places and People," Winter Park Public Library,
The Peter Schreyer Collection.
City of Orlando Public Art Collection, Orlando, Florida
Orange County Regional History Museum, Orlando, Florida
City of Biel, Biel, Switzerland
Swiss Camera Museum, Vevey, Switzerland
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Trailer City:
Portrait of a Community
The body of documentary work on the
70-year old community of trailer homes situated on public land
in Winter Garden explores disappearing Florida. It is a tribute
to the heritage and history of rural communities and diverse
neighborhoods; a visual and narrative exploration of the real
Florida. After an inaugural showing at the
Orange County Regional History Museum in Orlando, Florida,
the exhibition is now available for travel. Please contact Peter
Schreyer, 407-797-5168.
Dusk on Lake Apopka, Trailer
City, Winter Garden,
Florida, 2006
Retired park manager Bob De
Weese making his
rounds, Trailer City, Winter Garden, Florida, 2005 |
"Small Stories from A Big Country"
A Retrospective Exhibition
of 85 American Photographs
Swiss Camera Museum, Vevey, Switzerland
Between
November 13, 2004 and March 6, 2005,
over 5,000 visitors viewed Small
Stories from a Big
Country. The exhibition was reviewed in newspapers
and
art publications in four European countries.
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