By Beth Greenapple
On July 25 at the Janice Charach Gallery inside the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, a unique exhibit will open. Art From the Heart represents a collaboration between the gallery and the Jewish Gay Network of Michigan, with funding support from the Mark/Lis Family Foundation. The JCC and several additional Jewish organizations cooperated, and dozens of local artists have contributed their talents.
The event celebrates love and family in conjunction with the little-known Jewish observance of "tu b'av" – the fifteenth of the month of Av – observed in modern Israel as "chag ha'ahava" – the holiday of love.
"I went to Terri Stearn, the gallery's director, and suggested we do this together," explains JGN Executive Director Judy Lewis. "She couldn't have been a better partner."
Lewis arranged for simple masonite hearts to be cut by a local carpenter. Then, she put the word out to local artists and agencies. Numerous independent artists purchased one or more hearts and two local agencies purchased multiple hearts for use by their clients. Artists interpreted the themes of love and family with media ranging from oil paint to ceramic tile to fabric to femo clay and more. "A uniform base was used by artists in a myriad of ways," explains Lewis. "It parallels the universality of love and family within which there is endless human variation."
In addition to heart art, children's words about their own families will be featured as a part of the display.
All artworks will be displayed for sale. The exhibit will continue through Aug. 19. Proceeds from the sale of the hearts will help fund programming efforts of JGN and the Charach Gallery.
The Charach Gallery is known for encouraging local artists as well as having exhibits that emphasize Jewish themes, while the Jewish Gay Network of Michigan works toward "a community without closets," explains Lewis. "We educate, advocate and, someday, legislate – not directly, of course, but through education and advocacy."
Recently, JGN helped Congregation Beth Ahm's Tikkun Olam (repair of the world) Committee to hold a community conversation about "Being Gay, Being Jewish," an example of how it fulfills its mission to educate. Among its recent advocacy activities, JGN assisted two student allies in starting a Gay Straight Alliance at a community high school. Lewis added, "We help people to understand what it's like living in this world while being considered 'other."
For information about the Charach Gallery, call 248-432-5400. For information about JGN, call 248-432-5661, or visit http://www.jgnmi.org.
