Oregon Jewish Museum And Center For Holocaust Education

THE OREGON JEWISH MUSEUM AND CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST EDUCATION EXPLORES THE LEGACY OF THE JEWISH EXPERIENCE IN OREGON, TEACHES THE ENDURING AND UNIVERSAL RELEVANCE OF THE HOLOCAUST, AND PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERCULTURAL CONVERSATIONS.

EXHIBITION: LAWRENCE HALPRIN, FOUNTAINS FROM JUNE 23 - NOVEMBER 27, 2021.LAWRENCE HALPRIN STANDS AS ONE OF THE GREAT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. IN A DISTINGUISHED CAREER SPANNING 60 YEARS, HE CREATED NUMEROUS ICONIC AND TRAILBLAZING PROJECTS. HALPRIN'S WORK HELPED TO SPARK A RENAISSANCE IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE IN THE UNITED STATES AND EVOLVED INTO A MODEL FOR CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE WORK THAT ADDRESSES THE URBAN CONDITION. IN 1963 THE PORTLAND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION INVITED LAWRENCE HALPRIN AND ASSOCIATES TO DESIGN A SERIES OF FOUNTAINS IN PORTLAND'S DOWNTOWN. THE EXHIBITION CELEBRATES PORTLAND'S OPEN SPACE SEQUENCE, A REINVENTION OF PUBLIC SPACE IN THE CITY'S FIRST URBAN RENEWAL DISTRICT, THAT WIPED AWAY A JEWISH IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY AND REPLACED IT WITH FOUNTAIN PLAZAS AND URBAN GREENSPACES.

EXHIBITION: MENDING THE SOCIAL FABRIC FROM OCTOBER 7, 2021 - JANUARY 30, 2022. OJMCHES EXHIBITION MENDING THE SOCIAL FABRIC BY TEXTILE ARTIST BONNIE MELTZER HAS AT ITS CORE A PARACHUTE WITH A 314-FOOT CIRCUMFERENCE THAT IS ENCIRCLED BY 75 HANDKERCHIEFS EMBROIDERED WITH TEXT THAT AMPLIFIES THE MENDING MOTIF. MOUNTED BEHIND THE PARACHUTE ARE TEXTILES FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE. THE PARACHUTE, A SYMBOL OF SAFETY, HAS RIPS AND TEARS AND OVER THE COURSE OF THE EXHIBITION INTERACTIVE COMMUNITY BUILDING HAPPENS AS VISITORS SIT AND MEND THE DAMAGE.MADE SPECIFICALLY FOR OJMCHE, THE EXHIBITION IS GUIDED BY THE JEWISH PRINCIPLE "TIKKUN OLAM," WHICH MEANS "REPAIR THE WORLD". ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO OPEN IN OCTOBER 2020, THE EMPHASIS WAS TO HAVE BEEN ON CITIZEN ACTION, VOTING, AND IMMIGRATION. AS THE TERRIBLE EVENTS OF 2020 UNFOLDED AND THE EXHIBIT DATE WAS MOVED TO 2021, THE EXHIBITION'S VISION WAS REFOCUSED AND EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THEMES OF COVID 19, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND SAFETY NETS.

EXHIBITION: TO BEAR WITNESS-EXTRAORDINARY LIVES FROM DECEMBER 12, 2021 - MAY 21, 2022TO BEAR WITNESS - EXTRAORDINARY LIVES FEATURES PHOTOGRAPHS, PROFILES, AND SHORT FILMS THAT CAPTURE THE STORIES OF INDIVIDUALS WHO LEFT THEIR HOMELANDS FOR SAFE HAVEN IN OREGON. THESE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN, BORN IN PLACES AS FAR-FLUNG AS AUSTRIA, BOSNIA, MYANMAR, CAMBODIA, GERMANY, HUNGARY, RWANDA, SUDAN, SYRIA, AND TIBET, WITNESSED THE ATROCITIES OF WAR, GENOCIDE, AND THE HOLOCAUST. EACH PROFILE REVEALS THE RESILIENCE OF THE SURVIVOR AND THE GENEROSITY OF THE MANY WHO PROVIDED ASSISTANCE ALONG THE WAY.FROM HIS PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE OBJECTS, THE PARTICIPANTS RESPOND WITH HANDWRITTEN TESTIMONIES - STORIES, MEMORIES, POEMS, DRAWINGS. THEIR STORIES SPEAK TO THE LUMINOUS INNER LIFE OF THESE ORDINARY THINGS AND TESTIFY TO THE UNSPEAKABLE ANGUISH OF LIVES FOREVER LEFT BEHIND.