E-News | November 2013

In This Issue

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.

LEADING CONSULTANTS ADD TO MIX AT RETREAT PROGRAM

Four exceptional consultants will help us better understand new cultural trends, changes in communities, and the mindsets of museum audiences when they join us at CAJM's 2014 national gathering, Retreat/Forward: Connecting to Communities in Changing Times, to be held near

Baltimore Maryland, March 23-25, 2014.

Richard Evans (upper left) is President of EmcArts, a NYC-based service organization that fosters innovation in the arts; he is a frequent speaker on capacity building, cultural policy, and emerging practices. Randi Korn (upper right), who has previously worked with several CAJM museums, leads a full-service planning, evaluation and research firm in Alexandria, VA. Peter Linett (lower left) is Chairman and Chief Idea Officer at Slover Linett Audience Research, another

leading research and evaluation firm for the cultural sector; and Katherine Prince (lower right) is Senior Director, Strategic Foresight at KnowledgeWorks, which creates sustainable improvement in student readiness for college and careers through innovative tools, training and assistance to teachers, school leaders, and community stakeholders. Linett's and Prince's intriguing titles hint at the unique expertise of these distinguished individuals, who share decades of experience and creativity to spare. This year's retreat registration brochure will be available online in mid-December. You will receive a notice directing you to the full, rich program schedule at that time.

REMEMBERING AL MOLDOVAN

Dr. Alfred Moldovan passed away earlier this month, in the 92nd year of a very accomplished and

honorable life. This passionate scholar and collector of Judaica was a learned father and grandfather figure to many Jewish museum professionals and was closely associated with several CAJM institutions. At The Jewish Museum in New York, he was a member of the Museum's Acquisitions Committee, a donor to the collection, and founder of the Harry G. Friedman Society. He served on the Library Advisory Board for theJewish Theological Society of America and was a former Board member of Yeshiva University Museum. Al practiced medicine in Harlem for close to 50 years, and he helped found the Medical Committee for Human Rights to lend a medical presence to the Civil Rights Movement. He cared for SNCC workers beaten on the march from Selma to Montgomery, AL; he later tended to Columbia students injured while protesting the Vietnam War. His thoughtful, strong-minded presence at CAJM conferences will be greatly missed. May his memory be for a blessing.

NEW HOME FOR THE KOFFLER

Congratulations to the Koffler Centre of the Arts, which opened a new 4,600-square-foot exhibition venue in downtown Toronto on November 19th. The gallery is the anchor tenant at Artscape Youngplace, an ideas laboratory and creativity workshop that was launched following a $17 million transformation of the century-old Shaw Street Public School; the gallery is located in the school's former library. The move expands Koffler's exhibition resources exponentially and brings the institution to a very visible location in West Queen West, an art and design district that is home to more than 300 galleries, design houses, shops, restaurants and boutique hotels. Koffler's varied classes and performing arts programs will continue to take place at the organization's Presserman campus.

SLINGSHOT HONORS FIVE CAJM INSTITUTIONS

The Council of American Jewish Museums counts among its ranks some of our communities' most forward-thinking institutions and most creative individuals, and the Slingshot Fund continues to confirm that. Slingshot, which advocates for innovation in Jewish life, publishes the annual Slingshot guide, which recognizes 50 Finalists and 10 national Standard Bearers. This year (the program's

9th), two new supplements to the guide also cite organizations impacting the lives of girls and women or fostering the inclusion of people with disabilities. We could not be prouder of Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters, which has again been named a Standard Bearer and was also hailed in both new supplements. The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life is another "three-peat" Standard Bearer. The Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation is one of the 50 finalists; the Jewish Women's Archive is included in the women's-oriented supplement; and the Sabes JCC has been commended for embracing the inclusive model as a central component of its mission. Mazel tov, all, and thank you for leading the way. Read the guide, and meet the innovators.

ADVANCING WOMEN PROFESSIONALS

Last year we reported that our colleague Aliza Kline had resigned as Executive Director of Mayyim Hayyim for a new opportunity. That opportunity was to become Senior Project Director at AWP, Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community. Recently we

spoke with Shifra Bronznick, Founding Director of the organization, which works to transform Jewish life by advancing women and building shared leadership. AWP seeks to remedy gender imbalances in the workplace, something from which our field does not necessarily suffer -or from which it may suffer in an atypical reverse - but the AWP website is a superb resource for CAJM members. It includes information on empowering leadership, strengthening communication, building effective partnerships, nurturing healthy work environments, and sustaining true work-life balance. We encourage you to visit the site and, particularly, its best practices page for inspiring philosophy and practical suggestions.

LET US PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON YOU

CAJM offers resources for learning all year round on our website and at our annual conference; models professional standards; offers opportunities for information exchange; and works on behalf of Jewish museums and museums with Jewish content, like the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art in Memphis, TN. Its Jewish collections include modern Judaica and contemporary Israeli art, as well as works by Samuel Bak, Marc Chagall, Mane Katz, and Reuven Rubin (to right, his Musicians of Safed).

HAPPY CHANUKAH | HAPPY THANKSGIVING

... or, as some have taken to calling this week's

overlapping holidays, Thanksgivukkah!

(Menorah from the collection of the Skirball Museum

in Los Angeles)

Meet new colleagues & grow

your skills:

Become a Member

___________

Stay current: