Exhibits

Art Speaks Louder Than Words: Teaching Israel Through Traveling Exhibits

Did you know that the Israel Education Initiative can help educators to teach Israel through the Arts? Outstanding exhibits are available, along with program and activity guides to allow students to engage in the displays and create their own meaning. Think of these for your school, after-school informal ed program, camp, JCC setting, etc.

Pure Faith is a unique collection of 28 images, in which Israeli photographer Harel Stanton explores his interpretation of the sacred rites, traditions, and significant cultural nuances. Stanton’s photographs feature ethnicities and religions including Orthodox Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. “For me,” says Stanton, “as someone who studies the religious ceremonies through the lens of the camera, every time I am amazed again to see that it is all the same people who are behind the uniform, costumes, dress, burka, kippa etc.” More about Harel Stanton...

Saturday, September 15–Wednesday, October 31
Harel Stanton will be present at the exhibit and guide a tour in October. TBA.
JCCSF, Katz Snyder Gallery, 3200 California St., San Francisco
www.jccsf.org/arts, (415) 292-1233
Co-sponsored by the Israel Center

Children of Jerusalem: Painting Pain, Dreaming Peace

Art exhibit for the entire family

Zeum is proud to present in partnership with the Consulate General of Israel, the first U.S. presentation of this exhibition featuring artwork by Israeli and Palestinian youth over a two-year period.  The show celebrates the role of art in building a bridge between people and nations and reveals moving images of conflict but also aspirations of peace and collaboration expressed through children’s eyes and hands. The show is a selection of work from a program developed by Kitty Cohen and the Institute for the study of Religions and communities in Israel and has been shown in Jerusalem, London at the House of Commons, Geneva, and Manchester.

April 11 - July 8, 2007.
Zeum, 221 Fourth St., San Francisco
Info: www.zeum.org / 415.820.3320
Admission: $6 / youth 3-8, $8 / adults, $7/ students & seniors, free for Zeum members and children 2 and younger.

Presented by: Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest and Zeum.
Co-presented by: The Israel Education Initiative (a joint project of The Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation and the Bureau of Jewish Education), The New Israel Fund, and The Contemporary Jewish Museum..

NEW:
“Israel: Cartoonists’ Diagnosis – 2006”
A Traveling Exhibit and Educational Program
click for flyer

Israel’s complex social and political affairs provide a natural breeding ground for satire. Every part of Israeli life has political overtones, making the medium of the published cartoon a perfect vehicle with which to respond to the continual contentious affairs. A true demonstration of democracy, the Israeli political cartoon allows artists to deal with highly sensitive issues with a mix of humor and seriousness. Appreciated for their provocative nature, these cartoons are often as effective a means of expressing opinions as any political speech, newspaper article or newscast.

The collection was curated in collaboration with the Association of Cartoonists in Israel.

The exhibit includes 60 cartoons on 5 different topics, ready to hang and enjoy!

The educational component: In addition to the exhibit we created a booklet with educational guidelines, the images and a CD containing a PowerPoint presentation. The exhibit, booklet and CD can be used together or separately depending on your needs as an educator.

The exhibit will be on display in schools, community centers, congregations and campuses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This exhibit is similar to last year’s, but has new material, new images and new themes and topics for discussion.

For info, to receive the educational material, or to schedule the exhibit in your venue, please contact: Jen Childs 415-751-6983 # 147 jchilds@bjesf.org.

Herzl: Up Close and Personal

In remembrance of 100 years since the death of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, this exhibit lets students inside Herzl's visionary mind. Through photographs, illustrations, graphics and text (in easily portabl panels), this exhibit can provide rich access to the beginnings of the Zionist vision. Students will be invited to identify with the young man from Vienna, and understand the influences in his life that brought him to conclude that the Jewish people needed a Jewish state. Usable and elegant teaching materials have been prepared that let students investigate Herzl, the man, and the times he lived in.

Co-existence: A Traveling Poster Exhibition

Art is a significant molder of public opinion and speaks to the heart without verbal language. Art can communicate beyond boundaries, and with all ages, nationalities and religions. This exhibit, mounted by the Jerusalem-based Museum on the Seam for Dialogue, Understanding and Co-existence is available to schools, and has been used around the world during the past two years. The striking visual images of coexistence created by artists from around the world, are the catalyst for informal discussions about coexistence in Israel (and here at home.) The exhibit in your school will undoubtedly raise the big questions of tolerance and will cause everyone in the school community to think about prejudice and how we might learn to live together. The images (on big posters) are accompanied by educational activities to maximize the experience.

Teacher training for these exhibits is available. Please contact Vavi Toran vtoran@bjesf.org for more details.