Musings ...From The Maine Jewish Museum A News & Events — Autumn 2018 Edition A Page 1 MUSINGS from The Maine Jewish Museum A On the Web @ mainejewishmuseum.org MUSINGS from The Maine Jewish Museum A On theThe Web Whole @ mainejewishmuseum.org Story, Pages Of Photos Page And 1 Hall Of Fame Inducts 16 More Inside This Edition Of Musings Our Director’s Musings Welcome From The Maine Jewish Museum’s New Director _________________________________________ Hello Everyone! It is with tremendous pleasure I introduce myself to you and all who read this newsletter. I was brought onboard to work with the leadership of the Maine Jewish Museum to not only continue the fine work done by our Founding President, Jody Sataloff, our current President Steve Brinn and the museum Founding Executive Director, Rabbi Gary Berenson but to seek out new incre- mental funding and programs to permit the muse- um to advance with success as we all continue to grow and prosper. I know that many of you came to the museum to witness our very first-ever Induction Ceremony into the Maine Jewish Hall of Fame on Octo- ber 7th. It was a marvelous event honoring the lives and careers of 16 people and their families, from Maine, who have led lives of distinction in such fields as education, medicine, business and philanthropy. We are proud to have hosted this event which honored so many people with Jewish heritage coming from Maine. Information will come out soon for next year’s Maine Jewish Hall of Fame event, which is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, September 22nd 2019. Please put it on your calen- dars, as we hope to see you here. It is an exciting time here at the museum. We are now entering the second decade of our operation and growth for the museum since its renova- tion. One exciting new thing many of you may not be aware of is that the museum has become a true destination for visitors to Portland. Each day when the big cruise ships are in port we get a steady stream of visitors from all over the world. Our strategic location, just a short stroll from Page 2 MUSINGS from The Maine Jewish Museum A On the Web @ mainejewishmuseum.org where the cruise ships dock is a boon to our daily activity and gives us an opportunity to hear from and to greet visitors from around the world. It is particularly exciting for us to hear that many of our guests have predetermined that they will visit the Maine Jewish Museum before their ship pulls into port. I am pleased to say that referral sources like tripadvisor.com have been an exceptional travel resource and guide for our visitors. I strongly suggest you tell all your guests to visit the website and to make a comment! Also, mark your calendars and make sure your guests know that our upcoming art exhibits at the Maine Jewish Museum rotate nearly every two months. These are an exciting opportunity to see and experience new art programming at the museum. The work of three exciting Maine artists, Russell Christian, Carol Sloane and Neal Beckerman will be opening soon and I encour- age you to visit our galleries and meet the artists for the Opening Reception here at the muse- um on Sunday, November 11th at 2 p.m. I also want to recognize the docents of the Maine Jewish Museum. Their hard work and dedica- tion makes a difference. Each docent has their own focus, specialty and interest but they each have the skills and desire to communicate the history of our building and the beauty of our art on display. We should remember that the quality of each guest’s visit relies on the ability and personality of our docents. The Board of Directors of the Maine Jewish Museum and myself thank you all. One last thing…When you come to the museum, for any purpose, please make sure you come by the office or stop me in the hallway to say hello. I want to meet everyone possible and hear of what brings you to the museum. The only way I can be better at what I do is to listen and learn from you. Thank you. Gary Barron Executive Director, Maine Jewish Museum Page 2 MUSINGS from The Maine Jewish Museum A On the Web @ mainejewishmuseum.org MUSINGS from The Maine Jewish Museum A On the Web @ mainejewishmuseum.org Page 3 Presidential Musings The Maine Jewish Museum Needs your Support _________________________________________ Dear Friends of the Maine Jewish Museum, We are so grateful to you, our supporters, for helping us reach a wonderful milestone. We are excited to celebrate 10 years as the Maine Jewish Museum! This year’s Annual Appeal Campaign not only celebrates this milestone but also the person most respon- sible for us achieving it, our founding President and current Vice President Jody Sataloff, who served as our leader from the very beginning in 2008 until 2017. Her vision, creativity, incredible tenacity, and collaborative communication and leadership style, drove the foundation, growth and success of the Mu- seum in a most compelling way. Under her leadership, the Maine Jewish Museum blossomed into a unique institution: a link between both past and contemporary Jewish life. We became a multi-faceted resource to the community: the Spiegel Art Gallery offering the best of art world luminaries, the beautiful Fineberg Family Community Room, accommodating larger audiences for a variety of events and a community resource where all are welcome, a beautifully restored building holding a rich history of Maine’s Jewish past as evidenced by the inaugural Maine Jewish Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this October, which was attended by over 200 people, an educational facility utilized by school groups, individuals and organizations, a Portland attraction receiving visitors from all over the world, a location for lectures, music and live theatre. We are a vibrant Jewish museum that serves both Jewish and non-Jewish community members and visitors. And we are most excited to have hired a wonderful new Executive Director, Gary Barron, who joined us in August and has already made a very positive impact! With Gary on board, our efforts to expand our historical exhibits utilizing easy-to-use technology advancements, launching innovative and exciting programming, and advancing our mission of fostering understanding and dialogue between diverse groups will take a giant leap forward to benefit the community at large. In the service of accomplishing these goals and to specifically honor Jody, we ask that you contribute this year at the level that feels right to you, as we celebrate ten great years of being a rich part of the Maine, Portland and Jewish cultural mix. Please join with us in celebrating our 10 years as a Museum and honoring the person most responsible for making it happen, our founding President, Jody Sataloff. Thank you, Steve Brinn President, Board of Directors Page 4 MUSINGS from The Maine Jewish Museum A On the Web @ mainejewishmuseum.org & Family Trees” were exhibitions by three Our Curator’s gals who have Maine roots. Joan Busing, an Musings import from Westchester County, New York, has resided in Portland for three years. Her exhibition of monoprints of the moon and Sara Crisp’s mixed-media encaustics were favorably reviewed by Dan Kany, art critic for Another year is nearly over! The Museum has The Maine Sunday Telegram. Shelley Jordon, shown three exhibitions every two months and a long-time Maine summer resident, connect- 2018 featured many artists who just happened to be ed her paintings to the High Holidays. She women! Here are some highlights: painted mixed media fall leaves to represent change and growth toward a new year. January/February November/December We opened the 2018 season with multi-media pho- tographs by Shoshannah White, a talented artist Now showing at the Maine Jewish Museum is who takes pictures which end up looking like paint- the artwork of Carol Sloane, a Maine Jewish ings. Her practice includes painting sculpture and painter. Her Maine landscapes and artifacts public art installations. of her childhood are exhibited in a scroll- like fashion. They are so appropriate for the March/April sanctuary. Nanci Kahn exhibited photographs of her children All in all, 2018 has been a fruitful year. The reproduced on silk-like banners, hung beautifully in Museum has been visited by travelers from 81 the third floor sanctuary. Nanci is a national figure cruise ships as well as by many parents vis- in the photography world with exhibitions from iting their children at summer camps and a Maine to Ethiopia. broad tourist community. May-June Now we settle in, enjoying local visits sup- porting artists and purchasing art by con- Alex Sax, a mother of triplet boys, still has time temporary Maine Jewish artists with a strong to teach and create art. “In Loving Memory” was Maine connection. We are scheduled through a creation of small ink drawings and prints of the 2020 and are working on 2021. Maine Jewish Museum’s garden. We hope you will drop by and visit us at July/August the Maine Jewish Museum at 267 Congress Street, here in Portland. Nancy Glassman, a well-established Maine painter, exhibits in Rockland. The first 10 years of her life Hours are 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. weekdays and 1 were spent in South Portland. Many of her paint- until 5 p.m. on Sundays. Please give us a call ings in “Home” were of East End, Portland homes if the weather is severe to confirm we will be which got her in touch with her early Southern open.