Making Hope Happen Art Exhibition Celebrates 70 Years of Jewish Family and Children’s Service Helping Western Pennsylvanians

 

Artworks Inspired by Human Stories of Challenge and Hope

 

 

PITTSBURGH (December 10, 2007) – Jewish Family and Children’s Service (JF&CS) has helped Western Pennsylvanians at critical stages of their lives for more than 70 years.  From life transitions like parenting, aging, and death to crises like infertility, family violence and unemployment, JF&CS has been here with vital support, no matter how difficult the problem, and regardless of a person’s background or ability to pay. That’s why JF&CS is recognizing this milestone with Making Hope Happen, an original art exhibit on view from February 18 to May 16, 2008.

 

The curatorial project is organized by JF&CS in collaboration with the American Jewish Museum of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.  To date, sponsors include the Anne L. Caplan and Irene V. Caplan Endowment Fund of UJF Foundation, The Fine Foundation, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, Reed Smith LLP and Staunton Farm Foundation.

 

“Making Hope Happen celebrates 70 years of serving Western Pennsylvania residents and the challenges that thousands of people have overcome to enhance not only their own lives, but the lives of those around them,” said Aryeh Sherman, executive director of JF&CS.  “We want this exhibit to educate viewers about the many issues that people may face throughout their lifetimes and the hope that happens at JF&CS every day.”

 

JF&CS Clients Inspire Art

The original artworks featured in the exhibition are inspired by actual stories of individuals served by JF&CS in each of its primary service areas.  Regional artists commissioned for the show were challenged to create pieces that interpret and respond to these case studies.  The eight pieces range in medium from site-specific wall drawings and kinetic fabric sculptures to paintings, prints and photographs.  Overviews of each case study as well as general information on the agency programs and various social issues addressed by JC&FS will be posted throughout the exhibition.

 

“Visual arts can communicate ideas and tell stories in ways that words cannot,” said David Stanger, director of the American Jewish Museum and a participating artist.  “The stories that are interpreted through the various mediums will be both thought-provoking and inspirational.”

 

Exhibit Artists Are Among Region’s Most Accomplished

Eight of the region’s most talented artists are each depicting a case study from one of JF&CS’ primary service areas including:

 

Leslie Ansley, Special Needs
Ansley is a painter, muralist and educator who has exhibited her work in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and Pittsburgh.  She has created murals for the Central Northside and Squirrel Hill communities as part of the Sprout Fund Project.

 

Matt Forest, Aging/Older Adults
Forrest is well-known regionally for his drawing and printmaking accomplishments.  He shares his talents with students at Carnegie Mellon University and West Virginia University.

 

Leslie Golomb, Guardianship

Golomb is the chairperson for Making Hope Happen and exhibits both nationally and internationally.  She has won numerous prestigious awards for her work and has participated in the Sprout Murals in Pittsburgh.

 

Adam Grossi, Food Pantry

Grossi is a painter and video performance artist who was named the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts’ 2007 Emerging Artist of the Year.

 

Wendy Osher, Refugee and Immigration Services

Osher has taught at the Carnegie Museum of Art as well as public and private schools. Her work has been exhibited in Washington DC and Pittsburgh as well as internationally.

 

Philip Rostek, Career Development

Rostek is a painter and sculptor whose work has been exhibited in a number of solo and group shows in the U.S., Poland, Austria, Brazil, Italy and France.

 

David Stanger, Adoption

Stanger is an artist and curator born and raised in Pittsburgh.  He is currently the director and curator of the American Jewish Museum. His work has been exhibited regionally as well as nationally.

 

Dror Yaron, Psychological Services/Mental Health

Yaron is the photography studio coordinator at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh.  His work has been published in magazines and newspapers in the US, Europe and Israel; and his artwork exhibited in galleries, museums and alternative venues in NYC and Pittsburgh.

 

Four Programs Support Exhibit

While the artworks provide visual inspiration, four separate events will offer opportunities to engage the regional Pittsburgh community with thought-provoking discussion and education during the three-month show. 

 

An opening reception in February will introduce the exhibit, with a short program followed by a gallery reception. In March, an artist symposium will feature the show’s several of the eight participating artists.  “Artists as Adocates” will discuss how participating artists use their work to create awareness of important issues.

 

During April, JF&CS will host a program about the emerging needs of baby boomers and the implications for society and the workplace.  Today, many Americans are living healthfully until 85, with fewer and fewer retiring at 65, either because they can’t afford to or don’t want to because they enjoy working. The event will focus on specific challenges of this population including finances, values clarifications, post-retirement career planning and health/wellness. 

 

Making Hope Happen will close on May 16, with a final program integrated into the JC&FS’ Annual Meeting on May 15, 2008.  Photojournalist Susie Shapira will share her work and experiences documenting the plight of the Burmese refugees in the refugee processing center nearest to Mae La camp, which is the biggest refugee camp on the Thai side of the border, as well as here in Pittsburgh with the Burmese refugees resettled in our community by Jewish Family & Children’s service.

 

Exhibition Hours

The free exhibition can be seen from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and Sundays and from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m on Saturday.  Making Hope Happen is in the Berger Gallery of the American Jewish Museum, located inside the Jewish Community Center Robinson Building on Darlington Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.  For more information, visit www.jcfspgh.org or call 412/422-7200.