ORONO – Portland photographer Marta Morse will present a free illustrated lecture and curator’s tour of her exhibit “Persian Impressions” at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 17, at the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine.

Morse’s exhibit comprises 40 color prints chronicling her visit to Iran in 2004. They portray mosques, gardens and people in contemporary Iran, a country once known as Persia.

Morse’s talk will add a historical perspective to the photographs and slides. Trained as an architectural designer and artist, Morse has exhibited travel photographs in one-artist shows in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine.

“Persian Impressions” is one of two new exhibits at the museum created around the theme of the 2005 Camden Conference, “The Middle East: Compromise or Conflagration?”

The second exhibit, “Across the Sands of Time,” displays art and artifacts from the Middle East, some of which have never been exhibited to the public.

Among the holdings of the Hudson Museum are North Syrian ceramic vessels dating 1500-1000 B.C., Iranian ceramics from 1000 B.C. and Luristan bronze works. Along with the museum’s collection, objects borrowed from other lenders showcase the rich artistic traditions of the Middle East.

The exhibits run through June 10. The Hudson Museum is located in the Maine Center for the Arts on the Orono campus. Information is available by calling 581-1904.