Postcards for Paige: The Final Edition

As our regular readers are aware, in recent years we’ve dedicated one of our monthly newsletters each quarter to tongue-in-cheek “correspondence” between our visitor services coordinator and our visitors. This started with Dear Abby (Abby Krolik) and then Greetings Graham (Graham Humphrey) and most recently Postcards for Paige (Paige Woodhouse).  Paige was recently promoted, but we persuaded her to draft one last newsletter before she left her old job behind. To read more posts from Paige, click here!

Dear Paige:

At mahjong last week my sister’s best friend was telling me that her nephew’s art was being displayed at the Jewish Museum of Maryland and they had attended a packed reception for it! What’s this My Family Story project and how do I get my grandchildren involved in the next one?

~Mahjong Mima

Dear Mima,

The My Family Story program is a fun-filled, meaningful, and multigenerational Jewish journey to the past, where students’ exploration of their Jewish family story culminates in an artistic project. In partnership with the Beit Hatfusot, the Museum of the Jewish People, the JMM has displayed these projects for the last five years! The projects are judged and those selected from each school are entered into Beit Hatfutsot’s international competition.

If you are interested in having your grandchildren involved next year, please tell your community about this great program – especially your grandkid’s Jewish Day or Congregational School. We would love to have more students from our local community get involved! You can also reach out to our Director of Learning and Visitor Experience, Ilene Dackman-Alon, to learn more about the project.

You only have until this Sunday (the 24th) to come and celebrate with us these students’ creativity, stories, and hard work! Don’t miss out! And share your family’s story in our comment book!

~Paige


Hey Paige,

From fashion design majors to material culture minors, the fashion-savvy community on my college campus has been abuzz with news that the next exhibit at the JMM features clothing. Is this rumor true?

~Textile-Trendy Tabitha

Hi Trendy!

The rumors are true. But it gets better – we don’t just have one new exhibit – we have two!

Stitching History From the Holocaust (April 7th to August 4th) on loan to us from the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, brings to life the innovative dress designs of Hedy Strnad, a Czech Jew who tried and failed to use her fashion design skills to escape the Nazis. Hedy’s dress designs were sent to her cousin in Milwaukee in attempt to gain passage to the United States. While this effort failed, her memory lives on in her sketches and letters. The Jewish Museum Milwaukee worked with the Costume Shop of Milwaukee Repertory Theatre to create the dresses from Hedy’s sketches. This exhibit serves as a touchstone for discussion of the human cost of the Holocaust and the plight of refugee populations.

On display concurrently is an original exhibit created by the Jewish Museum of Maryland titled Fashion Statement (April 7th to September 15th). This exhibit explores the messages we send – both subtle and overt – about ourselves through the clothes we wear. This exhibit will encourage you to think more deeply about the messages embedded in articles of clothing.

We have a great line-up of public programs to accompany them. Lots of these programs start at 1:00pm on Sundays (giving lots of time to sleep in on your weekend).

Please keep that buzz on campus alive and share the news. I can’t wait to see you in April.

~Paige


Paige,

I’ve been seeing a new face at the Front Desk of the Museum recently. Who’s the new kid on the block?

~Observant Omar

You don’t miss a beat, Observant! The JMM team is delighted to have a new Visitor Services Coordinator, Talia Makowsky. The next time you come into the Museum, please give her a warm welcome and introduce yourself.

With a new face at the front, there will also be a new answerer to all your quirky Museum-related questions. Talia will be taking over Postcards for Paige as it becomes Lloyd Street Letters. I am leaving you in great hands!

~Paige

PS. Don’t worry, I haven’t gone far! I have started a new role at the JMM as the School Program Coordinator. So please don’t be a stranger when you drop by this spring to see our new fabulous fashion exhibits.


Missed any previous editions of JMM Insights? You can catch up here!


 

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jewish museum of maryland JMM Blog

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