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Let Us Know
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... so we can let others know. There's always something beautiful, meaningful, or eye-opening going on at Jewish museums. Please share your museum's news and events.
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CAJM is ... Jewish art and history museums, historic sites, historical and archival societies, Holocaust centers, children's museums, synagogue museums, community centers, and university galleries ... the professionals and volunteers who work in them ... the children, adults and families who visit them ... the patrons who support them ... the organization that keeps them vital.
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New Website!
CAJM's new virtual address (www.cajm.net), recently launched after years of planning, puts a spotlight on the activities of our organization and our member institutions. Find a Jewish museum near you or visit one when you're traveling. Preview dazzling art, history, and community exhibits being shown at sites around the United States or sample a cyber exhibit of highlights from our members' collections. As a member of CAJM, you can take advantage of even more resources for learning, sharing, and networking with colleagues.
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CAJM 2010 in LA CAJM's 2010 annual conference, Challenge, Change, and Creativity: Jewish Museums in a New Era, takes place in Los Angeles from January 31 to February 3, 2010. Gabrielle Tsabag and Lynette Allen are Co-Chairs, and Tal Gozani is Host Chair. The primary meeting venues will be the Skirball Cultural Center (conference host institution) and the Museum of Tolerance, as well as the Japanese American National Museum. Against the stunning backdrop of the City of Angels, there'll be thought-provoking sessions, stimulating conversations, and visits to our other CAJM colleagues, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and the Zimmer Children's Museum, and to major LA cultural destinations. Following '09 conference innovations, a scholar-in-residence will lend insights, and firms serving the museum field will present their wares and talents at a vendor fair. Check the conference pages of our website for details.
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Holocaust Center opens in IL Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and author Elie Wiesel were among the dignitaries present when the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center opened in Skokie, IL on April 19. An estimated 12,000 people attended the ceremony, which included a videotaped statement by President Obama. This event culminated three decades of work, initiated by Holocaust survivors in response to a local neo-Nazi group. Read more about the striking Stanley Tigerman building and the vision espoused by Executive Director Richard S. Hirschhaut, his staff, and board. |
New CEO at NMAJH The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia has announced its new CEO: Michael Rosenzweig, a lawyer and current president of the American Pardes Foundation, assumes leadership 18 months prior to the scheduled opening of the museum's new five-story, 100,000-square-foot facility on Philadelphia's Independence Mall. Rosenzweig was founding president of one of the nation's first transdenominational Jewish high schools, and is an alumnus of the Wexner Heritage Program. Gwen Goodman, Executive Director Emerita, will continue to play a significant role on the NMAJH planning team through the December 2010 completion. At center: Rosenzweig, Goodman, and Joanne Kauvar at AAM site visit.
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CAJM at AAM in Philly
Were you at AAM in Philadelphia this April? The Council of American Jewish Museums sponsored two sessions: Representing the Nation, Representing Ourselves and Core Exhibitions in Culturally Specific Museums. CAJM Chair Gabriel Goldstein and Executive Director Joanne Kauvar attended the AAM Council of Affiliates meeting, where museum advocacy was a central topic. Representatives of our member museums were panelists at other sessions, and a group of delegates went to see the National Museum of American Jewish History under construction (above).
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Wisse New Director at YU Museum Jacob Wisse, tenured Associate Professor at Yeshiva University and head of the art history program at Stern College since 2005, has been appointed Director of the Yeshiva University Museum. His appointment follows the retirement of Sylvia A. Herskowitz, director of the museum for an extraordinary, and extraordinarily fruitful, 33 years. Wisse is a Montreal native and a specialist in Northern Renaissance art, who received his doctorate from the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University. |
The Derfner: New Name, New Face
The Derfner Judaica Museum, the former Judaica Museum at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale (NY), celebrated its reopening in June. The museum affords spectacular views, both outside and in. A sculpture garden on a rolling lawn overlooks the Hudson River. Within the 5,000-square-foot, glass-walled Louise Braverman building, director Susan Chevlowe has curated an exquisite inaugural exhibit of centuries-old ritual objects and works of art that are truly "Treasures."
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Through training of museum staff and volunteers, information exchange, and advocacy on behalf of Jewish museums, CAJM strengthens the Jewish-museum field in North America.
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