Council of American Jewish Museums
          E-News | March 2013   
 
In This Issue
New Director for CJM
Great '13 Conference
MInnesota Jewish Archives
AAM Coming Up
CAJM is ... 
Jewish art and history museums, historic sites, historical and archival societies, Holocaust centers, synagogue museums, Jewish Community Center galleries, children's museums, 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.

 

STARR TO LEAD CJM IN SAN FRANCISCO

Lori Starr, an innovative Jewish cultural leader and highly respected museum executive, will take Starr, L the helm at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco's museum of Jewish culture, history, art and ideas, beginning in June. The CJM, marking its 5th year in its beautiful Liebeskind building, announced the appointment in February. Said CJM Board Chair David Levine,"(We) are absolutely thrilled to have Lori Starr join the
CJM 2
organization. She is known for innovation, excellence, and fresh approaches to audience engagement. With over thirty years of experi- ence, her track record of achievement is outstanding." Starr is stepping down from her position as Executive Director at the Koffler Centre of the Arts, Canada's only multidisciplinary, contemporary Jewish
cultural institution. During her tenure there, the Koffler received acclaim for exhibitions, public programs, artist and scholar residencies, classes, and cultural happenings throughout Toronto; and grew its audience from 4,000 to over 100,000 (plus 100,000 more via online media). "Lori Starr made an enormous contribution to Toronto while she led the Koffler," says Matthew Teitelbaum, director of the Art Gallery of Ontario. "Our loss is San Francisco's gain."

 

CONFERENCE PAINTS NYC RED

... and yellow!  Evaluation surveys support our general impression that the 2013 conference in New York City earlier this monthLF Opening Plenary was one of our liveliest and most engaging. Several things made this gathering particularly strong: the access we had to very distinguished pundits and practitioners; the geographic and intellectual ground covered; the introduction of an artist-in-residence and art experiences for participants; and the diversity of mediums demonstrated and employed. Everyone was enthusiastic about the opening plenary (see Liana Finck's drawing of it to left), in which we heard from a thoughtful city planner, a visionary architect, and an innovative curator

13 conf logo sm

on the evolution of NYC's dynamic cultural districts. There was also great interest in New York Times columnist Edward Rothstein's keynote, both in terms of erudition and thought-provoking assertions that some CAJM members challenged. On top of this, we visited wonderful cultural institutions, traveled way uptown to the Bronx and Harlem and way down for an artist-led tour of the subway system, and enjoyed watching Liana chronicle our activities in paint and ink (see more here). Check out our Facebook page, and follow the twitter feed, or follow Elke Reva Sudin's blog in the algemeiner

 

News from the JHS of the Upper Midwest  

Following a pattern we have noted before in regard to the Jewish Museum of Florida merger with Florida International University and the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life merger with the University of California, Berkeley, the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest recently completed the transfer of its historical-documents collections to the University of Minnesota Libraries. In 2002, JHSUM founders Nathan and Theresa Berman created a $500,000 endowment for the collections at the University's Andersen Library, and about half of the collection was moved to the university. With the remaining half now transferred, this constitutes a major research collection on Jewish history, communities, religion, and culture in the Upper Midwest.

JHSUM
JHS Midwest
The university has hired archivist Katherine Dietrick to oversee the JHSUM collection. According to JHS President Jamie Heilicher, "To have our story housed shoulder-to-shoulder with other holdings of such a great Minnesota institution is a phenomenal testament to the work of our founders."

 

JOIN US AT AAM IN BALTIMORE     

In case you miss your CAJM colleagues already, it's not too late to register for the Annual Meeting of the AAM - now the 
American 
Alliance of Museums
 
- in May. The Baltimore AAM logo conference will be held from May 19-22, and you can learn all about it on the AAM website. If you are attending, please plan to join us for the CAJM Breakfast Meeting, scheduled for Monday, Baltimore May 20th from 7:30-8:30 a.m. at the convention headquarters hotel, the Hilton Baltimore. In addition, the Jewish Museum of Maryland is hosting a reception, "Heroes, Real and Imagined: An Evening at the JMM and the Lewis," Tuesday evening, May 21, from 7:30-10:30 p.m. You must register for these two special events through AAM. Use the following links to sign up for the breakfast ($35) and/or the reception ($45). See you in the "charm" city.
 

LET US PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON YOU

AJMCC

CAJM offers resources for learning all year round on our website and at our annual conference; models professional standards; offers opportunities for for information exchange; and workon behalf of Jewish museums and museums with Jewish content - like the one in Alaska that is scheduled to open this summer! The Alaska Jewish Museum and Cultural Center's new building will debut with "On Wings of Eagles: The Story of Operation Magic Carpet," presenting the story of the airlift of more than 47,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel by Alaska Airlines. Check upcoming CAJM e-news for more details about this expanding cultural institution.
 

ALL GOOD WISHES FOR A HAPPY PASSOVER

Goldberg seder plate 
Seder Plate, Neil Goldberg (The Jewish Museum, New York)
 
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