art exhibitions archive
The Minnesota JCCs are the home for many wonderful art exhibitions featuring local, national and international artists. The Tychman Shapiro Gallery at the Sabes Center Minneapolis and the newly renovated Herman J. Birnberg Fine Art Gallery at the Capp Center St. Paul, are premier destinations for Jewish arts and culture.
August 23 – January 31, 2024
Tychman Shapiro Gallery
Sabes Center Minneapolis
Growing Up Jewish
An exhibition of artwork by Jacqueline Kott-Wolle
Growing Up Jewish – Art & Storytelling traces the story of one North American Jewish family through five generations from 1925 to present. Drawing from family photos, Kott-Wolle captures in her vibrant brush strokes an array of intimate moments through the years. Paired with the artists’ own narration, the exhibition explores a colorful cast of characters and the complexity of Jewish identity in North America over the last century.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“From the ashes of the Holocaust, my family arrived in Canada as refugees and rebuilt their lives in the Jewish community in Montreal and supported themselves in the garment industry. Perhaps that might explain my attraction to fabric, bold patterns and fashion. These were all a part of the landscape of my upbringing. Growing Up Jewish – Art & Storytelling in many ways, pays tribute to the ‘shmata business’.
When you look at each painting, I invite you to see the repeating patterns. The red polka dot motif is a direct connection to my great grandmother, who tragically perished in the forests of Poland in 1942. My dad remarked in his memoir that when she died, she was wearing a red and white polka dotted dress. So, while I have never seen a photo of her, this pattern represents that she is with us, in every generation that came after her.
By contrast to that sadness, the green polka dot motif is a nod to one the best Jewish experiences that my children have enjoyed: Summer camp! Every year I packed up the green and white polka dotted sheets into duffels and they added to a sea of patterns in the bunks at Beber Camp in Wisconsin. Dresses we wore as children, my favorite pajamas, the copy of a lace Dior wedding gown that my mother wore in 1956 when she married my dad – these are all the fabrics of our lives.
I wanted to make the Growing Up Jewish series incredibly personal by incorporating these punches of color and pattern while illuminating the story of one Jewish family, through five generations from 1925 to the present.”
Presented by Minnesota JCC and Beth El Synagogue.
With curatorial & archival support provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
April 24 – June 20, 2023
Tychman Shapiro Gallery
Sabes Center Minneapolis
Outside the Lines
Photography by David Sherman
David Sherman is a Minneapolis-based photographer best known for producing striking basketball imagery that has been published internationally and beloved by many. His work is admired as the NBA Team Photographer for both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx professional basketball teams. Outside the Lines presents a diverse collection of rarely or never-before-seen work covering subjects and themes such as social and racial justice and honoring Holocaust survivors, as well as some recognizable iconic gems and other fun images David has made off the basketball court.
Related Events:
Artist Reception with David Sherman
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 • 6-8 PM,
Sabes Center Minneapolis
DELIcious History:
Jewish Delis of the
Upper Midwest
JANUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 17, 2023
Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis
*Tychman Shapiro Gallery
Reminisce about your favorite pastrami while sitting in an original booth from The Lincoln Del, as part of the new interactive exhibit by the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. All ages can have fun and learn while exploring Jewish food, delis, and the community they brought together. This interactive exhibit is an appetizer to stir memories we hope you’ll share with JHSUM so we can incorporate them into part two of this exhibit in the future. More events to be announced soon!
Featuring an Author’s Talk with Wendi Zelkin Rosenstein (The Lincoln Del Cookbook) and granddaughter of The Lincoln Del owners. We will also be premiering a JHSUM documentary about delis, created by Dale Bluestein. Light food & refreshments will be served.
Presented in partnership with the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.
The Jewish Artists’ Laboratory:
A Retrospective
AUGUST 29 – OCTOBER 23, 2022
Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis
Tychman Shapiro Gallery*
A culmination of 10 years of The Jewish Artists’ Laboratory, this retrospective exhibit features the work of more than 40 artists that have studied together and made art with the Minnesota JCC over the past decade. The Jewish Artists’ Laboratory brings together a diverse range of artists to explore the relationship between Jewish thought and creativity.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Aarah Aizman, Susan Armington, Robyn Awend, Carolyn Light Bell, Joel Carter, Jaymee Chanen, Gloria Cooper, Suzanne Fenton, Bev Fishman, Toni Glotter (fka Dachis), Leah (Lynn) Golberstein, Jonathan Gross, Renanah (Rani) Halpern, David Jordan Harris, Bonnie Heller, Ann Ginsburgh Hofkin, Sylvia Horwitz, Jay H. Isenberg, Sheri R. Klein, Avigail Manneberg, Ilene Krug Mojsilov, Lynda Monick-Isenberg, Alison Morse, Gayle Novick, Aimee Orkin, Dina O’Sullivan, Diane Pecoraro, Paula Leiter Pergament, Kris Prince, Phil Rosenbloom, Sarah Routman, Bonnie Rubinstein, David A. Sherman, Aaron Hodge Greenberg Silver, Judy Snitzer, Roslye Ultan, Susan Weinberg, Rochelle Woldorsky, Liba Zweigbaum Herman, Sharon Zweigbaum
The Shmita Project
An Exploration of the Biblical Sabbatical Tradition in the Modern World
JUNE 13 – AUGUST 10, 2022
Minnesota JCC Sabes Center*
& Capp Center Galleries
The current Hebrew year, 5782, is a shmita year. Shmita means “release” in Hebrew and refers to the seventh year in a seven-year cycle (like the seven-day cycle culminating in Shabbat). According to the Torah, during the seventh year, God commands us to let the land rest, release debts, resolve disputes, and to open our hands and hearts to those in need. The Shmita Project, a project of Hazon, asks us to consider: how do we bring this tradition alive in an era when we no longer rely on the rhythms and harvest of our fields to survive?
Featuring submissions to Hazon’s Shmita Project, this multimedia exhibit showcases artwork from all over the country with related programming that will engage the community with the art and provide opportunities to gain their own personal insights about shmita.
*SABES CENTER GALLERY VISITING HOURS:
We apologize for any inconvenience but due to current staffing shortages, please call the front desk at 952.381.3400 before arriving to ensure the gallery is open.
The St. Paul Jewish Federation presents
Landscapes of Home: Visions of Sovev Kinneret
Featuring work by Israeli artists Amos Yaskil, Yuval Gasser, Chaim Moreno,
Oshri Vizman and local artist, Linda Passon-McNally
APRIL 25 – MAY 31, 2022
Minnesota JCC Sabes Center & Capp Center Galleries
The Sovev Kinneret region in Israel is filled with natural beauty. Through vibrant prints and captivating photographs, this exhibit offers a window on this landscape and its diverse population.
Partnership2Gether (P2G) creates a living bridge between the Jews of Israel and World Jewry to strengthen Jewish identity and form a strong, stable and united global community. P2G is designed to cultivate people-to-people relationships, projects and professional programs between St. Paul and our partner region, Sovev Kinneret, in Israel. Volunteers from St. Paul collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to plan these exchanges. Contact the St. Paul Jewish Federation if you would like to participate in P2G.
RELATED EVENT:
Exhibit Opening Reception: May 2 • Sabes Center Minneapolis
6 – 8 PM (Artist Talk with photographer Linda Passon-McNally at 7 PM)
Presented by the St. Paul Jewish Federation along with The Jewish Agency For Israel, Partnership2Gether and the Minnesota JCC.
VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS
Visit our online virtual exhibits from the comfort of your home, featuring the works of local Twin Cities Artists.
Brokenness & Wholeness
Jewish Artist’ Laboratory
The Jewish Artists’ Laboratory, an arts initiative that explores specific themes through study and art making, brings together a diverse group of artists who have an interest in the relationship between Jewish thought and creativity. Each artist partnered with someone of a younger generation, expanding their learning and creativity. Brokenness & Wholeness is the product of an emotional year in search of inner peace.
Generously funded in part by the Covenant Foundation
Muddy Waters
Climate change, the environment and what we can learn from Jewish texts.
Muddy Waters explores a wide array of pressing environmental issues using a diverse breadth of art forms. These new works comment both subtly and overtly on the current state of our planet, our responsibility to serve as activists and how art plays a key role in making change. Through Jewish text study and shared inspiration, an outgrowth of ideas were fostered and captured in the works that inform this timely exhibition.
Visual Prayer
New works by the Interfaith Artist Circle
The Interfaith Artist Circle of the Twin Cities is a group of visual artists who pursue art as a spiritual journey. Originally founded in 2005 as the Jewish Women Artists’ Circle, the group now includes women artists from multiple faiths. The exhibit, Visual Prayer is the creative exploration of prayer through images, finding commonality and connectivity as well as diversity among religions. This exhibit was curated by Aimee Orkin, a Judaic artist and teacher who embarked on a one year sabbatical studying prayer with rabbis, scholars and cantors. “We hope our interfaith exhibits in the community will inspire collaboration among all faiths,” states Aimee Orkin.
Shalom Bayit
(Peace in the Home)
The Minnesota JCC hope you enjoy this unique online exhibition featuring artworks from our own community on the theme of Shalom Bayit (Peace in the Home). This foundational Jewish principle takes on new meaning in our current landscape, and as more and more communities around the globe have been sheltering-in-place, we are redefining what home is and what is means to have peace in the home.
Shalom Bayit is an ongoing practice – the intention is to create a sanctuary, a place that feels welcoming, calm and safe.