The artist with a class of fifth graders
at the March - August 2003 installation of
"Young Man with Star of David Armband in the Warsaw Ghetto,"
Temple Beth Shalom, Spokane, Wash.
photo by Dr. Pam Silverstein
The artist (photo, above) with
a class of 5 to 8 year old 'summer-fun-program' students at Mt.
Zion Baptist Church, Seattle, summer 2004. The youngsters
were an inquisitive, perceptive and enthusiastic audience.
Special thanks to Mt. Zion Baptist Church principal Jesslyn
Head,
the school teachers, summer interns,
and Rev. Brooke Rolston
photo by Rev. Brooke Rolston
_____________________________________
Western Illinois
University Art exhibit, 2004
please click photos to enlarge
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This website features art by
Akiva Kenny Segan
from
UNDER THE WINGS OF
G-D
Reflections on the Shoah
art series
and
SIGHT-SEEING WITH DIGNITY
art series portraying victims of
contemporary
hate, war, repression,
violence and genocide
The INTERNATIONAL SHOAH
ART MUSEUM
is a cyberspace art museum
for students, teachers &
other interested viewers worldwide.
HOLOCAUST/GENOCIDE EDUCATION THROUGH ART
offers
art
exhibits of
UWG & SWD artworks (held at institutions
such as college and university galleries,
public art museums and galleries, and
other venues by their invitation.
The artist also presents slide / powerpoint
classes & workshops at schools, universities, galleries,
museums and other venues;
please visit the CLASSES website section
class descriptions.
Slide/powerpoint classes can be
presented independently of UWG / SWD
art exhibits.
Mission Statement:
I. To educate youth about hate, anti-Semitism
and racism through the use of art as a
universally understood
teaching tool.
II. To restore dignity to the memory of those murdered by the
Nazi's, their Fascist
collaborators, and the silence of
millions.
III. To provide a safe and non-threatening
format for children,
parents, teachers,
librarians, clergy, therapists and others who
work with
children & youth through on-line learning, art exhibitions and
slide classes.
Goals for future years include the realization
of touring
exhibitions to public galleries & museums, the publication and
production of
books for children and adults, a CD-ROM
and a
film.
The fine art 'wings' drawings are for
children, youth, young adult and adult viewers of all ages.
Parents & Teachers:
The contemporary drawings and historic
& old family photos are
accessible for
viewers of all ages.
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The copyrighted photograph (below) by George Gobet, Agence
France-Press, was published on the front page of The
New York Times (copyright) June 28th, 2003. We see a child gunman
wearing a stuffed animal backpack while pointing his
automatic weapon at the photojournalist. For weeks after
viewing it I was mesmerized, and also disturbed by the
photo and what it tells us.
Why? So that website viewers may think about
the silence surrounding our knowledge that upwards of
300,000 youngsters in western Africa, some of them
reportedly as young as seven years old, are combatants in
wars, are in misery...many are orphaned, they're severely
wounded emotionally and physically...most have lost family
members and all have lost all sense of community, place
and safety.
Heavily armed with automatic weapons, these
children help keep the fighting going... some or much of
which is fueled by natural resources such as
diamonds and oil, all destined for the affluent
industrialized nations of the world.
What have we learned from the Shoah?
What can we learn yet from the Shoah?
What can we do to stop this type of
slaughter?
Can we remain silent while this epic cycle of death
and destruction continues on?
DON'T BE SILENT
about
torture,
lands mines,
child soldiers,
child
slavery worldwide (used in the manufacturing of chocolate,
clothing and shoes for western countries,
and as forced sex slaves),
war,
genocide,
murder-suicide bombings (which are
a crime against humanity),
holding people in prison without
access to counsel & without trials,
and
other human rights violations
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"Anytime you have an
opportunity to make things
better and you don't,
then you are wasting your
time on earth!"
- Roberto
Clemente,
late American baseball player,
quoted in
"Celebrate the States: Puerto Rico"
(Benchmark Books, 2001)
Below: Two
of four photos of "street art" in Sarajevo given to me by
an American journalist in 1994 at the opening of the
Museum of History & Industry exhibit "A Day in the Warsaw
Ghetto" in Seattle. I don't know who the artist was.
The portraits depict youngsters who died during the recent
war....their portrayal with "angels wings" is
striking!
The MOHAI exhibit included seven "Under
the Wings..." drawings with Warsaw Ghetto photos taken by
Nazi soldier Heinz Jost on his birthday in 1941.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Your tax-deductible donation to
JEWISH FAMILY
SERVICE
of greater Seattle
will support a variety of community needs
including the
community food
bank
(assisting Jews and non-Jews alike)
and emergency housing assistance.
Since spring 2005 donors to JFS-Seattle
will receive a tribute card featuring a Polish Menorah drawing by Segan
ARE YOU
PLANNING A TRIP TO ISRAEL?
PLEASE bring a second suitcase,
duffel bag or backpack with you.
PLEASE fill this extra luggage with
with old, usable and wearable clothing & shoes
which you no longer need, use or wear and which clog
up your dressers, closets and home storage areas.
Jerusalem alone has tens of thousands of very impoverished people.
During your visit, you will see destitute people begging in
Jerusalem
(and in other cities and towns too),
especially at tourist sites and along major streets.
~
Your hotel staff in Israel will be able to assist you in contacting
a
Jewish, Christian or Muslim social service agency for your
donation of usable clothes and the suitcase, backpack or duffel
bag you
carried the wearable clothes and shoes from your home country.
Some hotels (such as the Scottish Guesthouse) have
social service volunteers on-site who work with indigent people.
~
When getting ready to leave you PLEASE arrange to leave the
toothpaste,
shampoo, soap and
other toiletry items you bought during your visit
with social service agency staffers
who will
distribute these usable products to people who can't afford them
but
who can readily use them.
If you can afford to visit Israel you can readily replace these
items
when you get home. Travel safe, and help others too!
It's easy to be a mitzvah volunteer during your vacation or
business trip to Israel!
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