Leon Family Gallery

by | Mar 23, 2018 | What’s Happening

14th Annual Grieving Children’s Art Show
March

Jewish Family Service counseling staff, through the Dozoretz Center for Healing and Jessica Glasser Therapeutic Pavilion, specializes in helping individuals of all ages cope with loss and grieving. One component of this program is a free support group for children, teens, and their families who have experienced the death of a loved one: Peace by Piece. This program is operated by Edmarc Hospice for Children, in collaboration with JFS.

JFS and Edmarc co-sponsor an annual art show that displays the creative drawings and words of local grieving children and teens. This is an opportunity for children and teens to share their feelings with others and to see that they are not alone. The art show is open to any school-aged youth in Tidewater who has experienced the death of a loved one. More than 350 pictures have been submitted over the last 13 years.

For more information on the exhibit, program, or services offered by JFS, contact Debbie Mayer, LCSW, at 757-459-4640 or DMayer@jfshamptonroads.org.

ALUT—Courageous Expressions In observance of Autism Awareness Month
April

Courageous Expressions is a mixed media, group exhibition based on a variety of works created by untrained artists from the Israeli Society for Autistic Children (the ALUT Institute), a leading care provider for individuals with autism in Israel.

The exhibition’s body of work is both uniquely beautiful and interestingly abstract, while individual works are supremely complex in depicting the expressive voice behind each piece. Often the artist’s only or more comprehensive voice, each exhibited piece warrants a narrative depth far beyond what meets the eye.

ALUT’s Courageous Expressions exhibition seeks to inspire ongoing creativity and authenticity, honor the courage of all artistic expression, and stimulate unbridled acceptance. The exhibition emphasizes autism on a global scale as well as provides a platform for Israeli art that differs from mainstream narratives too often found amongst current events of the region.

In recognition of Autism Awareness Month, a national movement to bring awareness and acceptance in schools and communities that result in the appreciation of the unique aspects of all people where those with Autism are truly valued for their unique talents and gifts, Courageous Expressions will be on display in the Leon Family Gallery.

All pieces are for sale and can be purchased at the Simon Family JCC front desk. Proceeds from the sales of the Courageous Expressions exhibit will go towards additional art classes in the ALUT employment centers for young adults with severe autism in Israel, as an additional means of therapy and rehabilitation.

For more information about this exhibit or future exhibits, contact Melissa Eichelbaum, program department associate at MEichelbaum@ujft.org or 321-2304.