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| CAJM is ... |
Jewish art and history museums, historic sites, historical and archival societies, Holocaust centers, synagogue museums, Jewish Community Center galleries, children's museums, and university galleries ... the professionals and volunteers who work in them ... the children, adults, and families who visit them ... the patrons who support them ... the organization that keeps them vital.
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TRANSCENDENT CONFERENCE
CAJM's 2017 conference, Transcending Boundaries (March 19-21), provided a plethora of insights and highlights! More than 300 people joined us to explore expected and unexpected expressions of Jewish culture. Among the offerings were: visits to the Yiddish Book Center (left), Temple
Israel,
and the
Museum of Fine Arts
;
thoughtful Talking Circle conversations;
sessions featuring thought leaders and new voices; exciting speakers, including Masha Gessen and Aaron Lansky; and site visits to The Vilna Shul, Boston Children's Museum, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum! Check out our growing
gallery
of pictures from the March conference to catch a glimpse.
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NEXT MONTH AT AAM
We'll be further exploring our conference themes at the annual meeting of the American Alliance of Museums next month in St. Louis. Please come join us at the CAJM-sponsored session, Transcending Boundaries: The New "Identity" Museum
. The session will explore how museums dedicated to a specific culture face new audiences and realities as changing definitions shift expectations surrounding museums about "a people." For such museums, the forces of change weigh heavily, and the opportunity for redefinition is exciting. CAJM Board member
Marsha Semmel
and
Marvin Pinkert
of the Jewish Museum of Maryland will be joined by
Lisa Sasaki
, Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and
Antonio Rodriguez
, Chair of the Latino Network Professional Committee of AAM for this fascinating conversation.
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MAY IS JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
 It's nearly May, when we collectively acknowledge the contributions that American Jews have made to the fabric of our nation's history, culture, and society. "By celebrating JAHM, we honor the values of inclusion, acceptance, and religious liberty cherished by this country," says Ivy Barsky of the National Museum of American Jewish History. This year's theme is American Jews in medical research, but JAHM wants to know and circulate information about all of your special activities. Use the interactive website, JAHM.us, to submit your events to the calendar. You'll find a range of useful resources (e.g., lesson plans, timelines, programming ideas) there too.
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HONORS TO COLLEAGUES
Our colleagues at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center are among fifteen nominees for the prestigious National Medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services!  The Medal honors outstanding institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities, demonstrate extraordinary and innovative approaches to public service, and exceed the expected levels of community outreach. The winners will be honored at a National Medal award ceremony held in Washington, D.C. We wish everyone at ILHMEC luck in terms of the big prize, and are thrilled for their nomination.
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EXHIBITION NEWS
 Congratulations to the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, whose current exhibition, This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement, was featured in a special segment on the PBS Newshour. Watch the spot here or visit the exhibit, which continues through May 14. ... Also, the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership has opened the second exhibit in its new Ground Level Arts Lab, called If Not Now, When? Responding to the quote attributed to Hillel the Elder, it features more than 30 works by artist and activist Ben Shahn, who exposed injustice and inspired social change through his art.
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SPECIAL EVENT NEXT WEEK
For those in the New York area:
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett
,
esteemed colleague and CAJM Advisor, will share insights about the
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, for which she serves as Chief Curator. CAJM is co-sponsoring this event at the Museum of Jewish Heritage--A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. It will take place
Tuesday, May 2nd at 2 pm.
Reservations are recommended for this free program.
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READING MATERIAL
To follow up on discussions during the last day of the conference, here is an interesting New York Times article about interpreting cultural objects (in this case, Native American artifacts) as art.
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GENEROUS DONATIONS TO CAJM MEAN MORE SERVICES AND EXPERIENCES FOR YOU
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