Exhibitions highlight Women Artists and Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Holocaust
July 13, 2021 [St. Petersburg, FL): The Florida Holocaust Museum (The FHM) announced today that two new exhibitions will be opening on Saturday, July 24, 2021. The FHM will also be expanding its hours effective July 28, 2021. Currently, The FHM is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the last admission at 2 p.m.
New hours for The FHM will be Wednesday – Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the last admission at 4 p.m. Please visit www.TheFHM.org for ticketing information and other health and safety guidelines.
In the latest special exhibit of artwork from the Museum’s permanent collection comes Her Response: Women Artists from the Permanent Collection. The Florida Holocaust Museum holds a large contemporary art collection created by artists who are survivors, children and grandchildren of survivors, and those who may not have a direct connection to the Holocaust but have been moved to confront the subject in their art. Her Response: Women Artistsfrom the Permanent Collection intends to serve as a dialogue that explores the many different aspects of the Holocaust, observing the way art and art as testimony goes beyond both traditional and academic examinations of this world event.
This original exhibition was curated by Museum Registrar and Exhibition Manager, Victoria King-Taber. Artworks selected for this exhibition represent the diversity of art in The Florida Holocaust Museums’ permanent collection, specifically those made by women artists. “As The Florida Holocaust Museum approaches its 30th anniversary, we wanted to highlight our significant collection of contemporary art and the powerful female artists that make up a majority of these artworks in the permanent collection,” said King-Taber. “Our first-ever exhibition of all female artists features their unique backgrounds and offers thought-provoking perspectives through individual artistic responses to the Holocaust.”
Some of the artists featured in this exhibition include Daisy Brand, Joyce Lyons, Kitty Klaidman, Pearl Hirshfield, and Toby Knobel Fluek. In 2018, The FHM received a large donation from Lillian Fluek Finkler, daughter of artist and Holocaust Survivor Toby Knobel Fluek. Finkler donated 542 original paintings, drawings, charcoals, and sketches, plus other materials that include historical documents and photographs from her mother’s wartime experiences, book manuscripts, and personal papers. Her Response: Women Artists from the Permanent Collection will be on display in the second-floor south gallery at The Florida Holocaust Museum from July 24, 2021, to December 26, 2021.
Also coming to The FHM’s second-floor gallery is Jehovah’s Witnesses: Faith Under Fire, an exhibition that focuses on Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Holocaust. Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian community of 35,000 in Germany and occupied lands, refused to conform to the Nazi ideology of hate. They suffered severely for their belief in nonviolence and their utter rejection of racism. Thrown into Nazi camps, they became eyewitnesses of Nazi genocide. This exhibition documents the story of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Holocaust and provides an in-depth look at ordinary people who followed their conscience in the face of tyranny. Jehovah’s Witnesses: Faith Under Fire will be on display in the second-floor center gallery from July 24, 2021, to January 2, 2022.
The Florida Holocaust Museum is located at 55 5th Street S., St. Peterburg FL 33701.
These exhibitions are made possible in part by Culture Builds Florida: the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts (Section 286.25, Florida Statutes).
Stay engaged with The FHM online through the Museum’s virtual tour, virtual resources, online curriculum, collections, Holocaust Survivor testimonies, and on its social media pages Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About The Florida Holocaust MuseumOne of the largest Holocaust museums in the country, and one of three nationally accredited Holocaust museums, The Florida Holocaust Museum honors the memory of millions of men, women and children who suffered or died in the Holocaust. The FHM is dedicated to teaching members of all races and cultures the inherent worth and dignity of human life in order to prevent future genocides. For additional information, please visit www.TheFHM.org