The Leon Family Gallery has a fresh, updated appearance—just in time for the new season of exhibits. Located on the second floor of the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus, the new look and feel of the gallery offers a blank canvas to contrast the lively discussions on how art and community intersect. Each calendar month a new exhibit will be unveiled, allowing the community access to collections featuring a variety of mediums that represent Israeli and Jewish artists.
All exhibits at the Leon Family Gallery are free and open to the community with a portion of the proceeds from the purchase of artwork supporting the Simon Family JCC’s cultural arts department. For more information on upcoming exhibits, to share ideas for new artists, or schedule a tour and discussion for a group, contact Erin Dougherty, cultural arts director, at EDougherty@simonfamilyjcc.org or 321-2341.
August
Vintage Jewish fashion photography exhibit from the collection of Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv
This unique photography exhibit of iconic Jewish fashion and ceremonial dress is from the Bernard H. and Miriam Oster Visual Documentation Center at Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People, in Tel Aviv. Beit Hatfutsot’s initiative offers Jewish institutions a selection of curated, ready-made photo displays with the intention of sharing the museum’s vast collection of more than 400,000 black and white images depicting Jewish history, heritage, and communal life across the globe. This is the Leon Family Gallery’s second such exhibit.
These 20th century photographs depict traditional costumes and other ensembles from Jewish communities throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Israel, and beyond. The exhibit includes portrait and group photos, master craftwork including embroidery and jewelry, European Jewish school and sport uniforms, festive dress, early Israeli urban and labor clothing, and more.
September
Yoni Alter, designer and artist
Yoni Alter is a rule-breaker. With bright colors and thoughtful moments, he combines the graphic and artistic, highlighting the space and form between the literal and the abstract, offering new and fresh ways to observe the everyday. Currently based in London, Alter studied art and design in Jerusalem and London. His fresh energy and his take on how images transcend the basic constructs of visual consumption will surely open the minds of all who visit the exhibit of his work.
Alter’s Tel Aviv piece is the featured image of the Simon Family JCC and Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and community partners’ 7th annual Israel Today series.