Zimmer Newsletter 4 - Zimmer Children`s Museum

of
jewish
community
centers
of
greater
los angeles
SPRING 2004
2003 Discovery Award Dinner
O
ur annual Discovery Award Dinner was held on
November 6, 2003, at the Regent Beverly Wilshire
Hotel. 450 friends celebrated the accomplishments of
two incredible women, Barbara Fisher and Cynthia Sikes
Yorkin, held live and silent auctions, and enjoyed the
talents of Wil Shriner, Kathleen Madigan and Curtis Stigers.
Barbara Fisher is Vice President, Programming, at Lifetime
Entertainment Services, and the mother of sons Kyle and
Zachary.
Cynthia Sikes Yorkin is an actress, children’s advocate and
mother of Jessica and Michael.
We extend our sincere
thanks to the many
people whose efforts
contributed to such a
wonderful evening.
Award presenters Rabbi
Steven Leder and Sir
Sidney Poitier; dinner
Co-Chairpersons Denise
L-R: Denise DiNovi, Barbara Fisher,
DiNovi, Gail Katz, Lyn
Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, Irena Medavoy and
Gail Katz
Lear and Irena Medavoy;
Event Chairperson Wendy Moss Klein; entertainment
producer Bud Yorkin; Sharon Sacks and the amazing staff
of Sacks Productions; Wil Shriner, Kathleen Madigan, and
Curtis Stigers.
continued on page 4
ISSUE 5
Is That Your Phone
Ringing?
O
n Sunday, June 6, the
Zimmer launches its
newest program, an international
art exhibition titled: show&tel:
art of connection. Actors,
musicians, authors,
fashion designers,
athletes, journalists,
humanitarians and
everyday heroes
are turning
telephones into
one-of-a-kind works of art.
The telephones will be on
display June through September
at the Zimmer. They will then be
auctioned through gottahaveit.com,
with proceeds benefiting the
youTHink arts education program
in public schools.
The list of participants includes:
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jody
Williams; Israel’s Prime Minister
continued on page 3
Save the Date: Discovery Award Dinner • Thursday, November 4, 2004 • Regent Beverly Wilshire
L.A. Supports youThink
The Zimmer Museum was awarded a
$25,000 grant from the City of Los Angeles’
Public Arts Development Fee Program. The
grant will fund youTHink arts education in
public schools.
Pictured below (l to r) are Pat Gomez,
City of L.A. Arts Development Fee Manager,
City Councilman Jack Weiss; Rodney
Freeman, Co-Chair, Zimmer Board of
Pictured left to right are Rebekah Farber, Peter Shire
and Heidi Monkarsh
Directors; Esther Netter, Zimmer Executive
Director; Jean Friedman, Zimmer Museum
Celebrating Our Members
Founding Chairperson, and Los Angeles
Mayor James Hahn.
O
n January 22, the Museum’s annual
Discovery Council Evening was held
at the Peter Shire Studio. Paintings, sculpture,
ceramics, teapots, angels, and various works
in progress provided the setting for an
intimate slide show and talk by the artist,
giving insight to his artistic vision.
The event was co-chaired by Rebekah
Farber and Heidi Monkarsh in honor of the
museum’s Discovery Council members.
Thanks to Peter and Donna Shire for their
hospitality and generosity.
Executive Director Esther Netter is
shown here with Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal,
Consul General of Austria, Roy G. Young,
Consul General of Belize and Rabbi Gary
Greenbaum, Chapter Director, American
Jewish Committee (AJC).
The diplomats recently visited a number
of the city’s Jewish institutions, including
the Federation and the Zimmer, as part of
the first consular corps tour sponsored by
the AJC.
2
Zimmer Hosts a Special
Group of Visitors
T
housands of visitors of all backgrounds
pass through the Zimmer’s doors each
year. We were privileged recently to host
a special group of tourists. They were
survivors of the June 1, 2001 terrorist
bombing at Tel Aviv’s popular Dolphinarium
Discotheque. Twenty-one young people
were killed and one hundred twenty
wounded in the attack.
Eight teenage survivors and a mother
whose only child was killed in the blast
recently spent 10 Days of Hope in Los
Angeles. StandWithUs and Green Dog
Entertainment sponsored the program
to help the survivors deal with various
lingering health issues and rediscover joy
in their lives.
The group visited local amusement parks,
beaches and attractions, and was honored
at local synagogues and Jewish institutions
including the Zimmer. We are proud to be
a part of their journey.
Telephones Continued
Ariel Sharon; four-time
Olympic Gold Medalist
Janet Evans; New York
firefighter Hugh Giffords;
Larry King; Diane Sawyer;
actors Elizabeth Taylor,
William H. Macy, Dan
Aykroyd, Jane Kaczmarek,
Bradley Whitford, Frankie
Muniz, and Fran Drescher;
artists Charles Arnoldi,
Kenny Scharf, George
Herms and Robert
Graham; and children’s
authors Maira Kalman
and David Shannon.
show&tel: art of
connection also is part
of youTHink’s classroom
curriculum. Students are
using telephones to
express their views on
contemporary issues.
Alan & Debra Ladwig,
Commander Ian Zimmer
Mauro Caputo, Faux’n
Deborah Lewis, Retro Mobile
Phone Pocket(book)
Barbara Schaffer,
Conflict/Connection
Lenny Krayzelburg, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the Sydney Olympics in
2000, explores the Zimmer with young friend Rachel Klein. We will all be cheering
for Lenny in his quest to return to the Olympics, this summer in Athens, Greece.
Eric R. Lindberg, Untitled
3
2003 Discovery Award Dinner Continued
Standing: Rabbi Steven & Betsy Leder, Barbara Fisher
Seated: Bud Yorkin, Johanna & Sidney Poitier, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin
Honoree Barbara Fisher is pictured here with her sons
Kyle and Zachary
Esther Netter; Margie Reese, GM, Cultural Affairs Dept., City
of Los Angeles and Jean Friedman, Founding Chairperson
Dinner Co-Chair Irena Medavoy, left, shown here with
Evelyn Heyward, Mike Medavoy and Cheryl and Haim Saban
Museum board Co-Chairs Rodney
and Beth Freeman
4
Zimmer Board Member and Event
Chairperson Wendy Moss Klein and
Sharon Sacks of Sacks Productions
Museum board member Jennifer
Cohen with husband Curtis
Thank You 2003 Discovery
Award Dinner Sponsors
Platinum
Tiffany & Co.
Gold Circle Sponsors
Barbara Fisher & Michael Scott and Family
Jean & Jerry Friedman
Lyn & Norman Lear
Lifetime Entertainment Services
Evelyn & Mo Ostin
Lynda & Stewart Resnick
Cynthia & Bud Yorkin and Family
Museum board members Beth Freeman (co-chair),
Lisa Hofheimer and Dara Schnee
Cynthia Sikes Yorkin and Barbara Fisher with actor
Robert Wagner
Master of Ceremonies Wil Shriner
Silver Circle Sponsors
CBS Television
Carole & Hal Gaba
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw
Irena & Mike Medavoy
Phoenix Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Ornest Family Foundation
Dara & Charles Schnee and Family
Warner Bros. Studios
Sponsors
Sandy & Max Candiotty
Jennifer & Curtis Cohen and Family
Elissa & Edward Czuker
Denise DiNovi & Chris Taylor
Fidelity National Title Company
Beth & Rodney Freeman and Family
Gail Katz & Bruce Wessel
Wendy Moss Klein & Nancy Steingard
2Friends Entertainment
The Kohl Family
Cheryl & Haim Saban
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP
Alex & Elisa Taub
VonZerneck/Sertner Films
Michael Jaffe & Howard Braunstein
And for their invaluable help
Linda Ellman, Wil Shriner, Kathleen Madigan,
Curtis Stigers, Bud Yorkin, Sacks Productions
5
Exploring Culture and Celebrating Los Angeles
Making Home in L.A.
D
uring the 2003-2004 academic year,
youTHink brought together six 4th-
through 8th-grade classes from communities
throughout the city in school partnerships.
Using art to explore themes of culture,
identity and home, students created
community across differences and distances,
and learned more about the home they
share, Los Angeles.
Making Home in L.A.’s programming
encourages the students to think about
home on a number of levels by looking at:
■ Their Homes: Students explore their
family’s cultural identity through youTHink’s
Visions of Home Lesson.
■ Their Schools: Students from partnership schools participate in workshops
together, forming teams and friendships.
■ Their Neighborhoods: Students look at
what makes their neighborhoods great.
■ Their City: Students take a tour of Los
Angeles cultural sites, such as the Japanese
American National Museum, and the Avila
Adobe on Olvera Street.
The program culminates in a community
celebration and exhibition of student art on
Sunday, May 23, at the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood.
The six participating schools are: The
Accelerated School (South L.A.); White
Middle School (Carson); Audubon Middle
School (L.A.); Hollenbeck Middle School
(Boyle Heights); Toluca Lake Elementary
School (North Hollywood) and Community
Magnet Elementary School (Bel Air).
6
Zimmer Museum, One of the Best Things About L.A.
he Zimmer Children’s Museum was
Montefiore district of Jerusalem until their
named Best Little-Known Museum in
shul closed.
T
Los Angeles magazine’s recent Best of LA
Around the corner from Main Street,
children let their ideas flow at the water
issue.
A kids’ “paradise” located on Museum
Row, the Zimmer is a learning center where
exhibit. Water, Mayim, Agua teaches children
the importance of water in our environment
kids have fun while
and about being responsible for the water
learning life values. The
we use. Through water play, kids interact,
Zimmer is devoted to
splash, explore and discover.
providing an enriching,
hands-on experience
for children, parents
and grandparents
alike.
The best is getting
better, with new
permanent installations and an exciting array
of workshops and guest performances
planned for the summer.
Our newest exhibit, Music Island is the
perfect way to introduce children to music
and culture. With the help of Morton
Subotnick’s interactive technology, children
can compose their own original music, create
a virtual drum loop and even play musical
matching games. Children of all ages
(grownups too!) can learn about different
cultures and music from around the world.
A special addition to the museum is our
very own Torah. Located in the Main Street
Synagogue, the scroll is just the right size for
our visitors, with its own magnifying “yad”
pointer. The Torah was written in Poland
pre-1920 and brought to Jerusalem between
1935 and 1940. The Torah served a small
youTHink Awarded
$100,000 Grant for
Second Year
W
e are pleased to announce a
$100,000 grant from the Institute
of Museum and Library Services for the
second year in a row.
The grant is being used to support
youTHink, our innovative arts education
initiative. youTHink utilizes the power of art
to foster critical thinking, engage diverse
learners and serve as a tool for social
change.
We thank Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.),
Sandy Stein and museum board members
Laura Stein Goldfeder, Larry Kohl and Karen
Sandler (chair of the Government Relations
Committee) for their ongoing efforts on
behalf of youTHink.
youTHink is a program of the Zimmer
Children’s Museum and the Center for
American Studies and Culture.
congregation of Polish immigrants in the
7
BOARD
OF
DIRECTORS
Non Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAI D
Mercury Mailing
Systems Inc.
Beth and Rodney Freeman
Chairpersons
Jean Friedman
Founding Chairperson
Barbara Yaroslavsky
Special Projects Chairperson
Esther Netter
Executive Director
Susan Amster
Allison Berg
Sandy Candiotty
Wrenn Chais
Phyllis Coblentz
Jeffrey H. Cohen
Jennifer Cohen
Lisa Cohen
Elissa Czuker
Karen Lehmann Eisner
Rebekah Farber
Barbara Fisher
Adine Forman
Beth Friedman*
Dr. Jerry Friedman
Noralee Gold
Laura Stein Goldfeder
Eve B. Greenfield
Susan Greer
Josh Hofheimer
Lisa Hofheimer
Jean Kaplan
Wendy Moss Klein
Larry Kohl
Martin Lesak
Heidi Monkarsh
Jon Monkarsh
Caroline Moser
Sharona R. Nazarian
David Nimmer
Barbara Prober
Peter Rosen
Lance Rosenzweig
Karen Sandler
Dara Schapiro Schnee
Annette Shapiro
Julie Simms
David Soleymani
Carol Brennglass Spinner
Jonathan Swerdlow
Sheryl Wachtel
Alice Weit
*past chairperson
PRESIDENT ’S ADVISORY BOARD
Tom Barad
Adele Binder
Gordon Binder
Jona Goldrich
Bram Goldsmith
Brian Henson
Andy Heyward
Arthur Hiller
Gary E. Knell
Norman Lear
Charlie Rivkin
Ellen Sassa
Scott Sassa
Nellie Seddigh
Harold Williams
Bud Yorkin
Bryce Zabel
Richard S. Ziman
6505 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 100
Los Angeles, California 90048-4908
(323) 761-8989
www.zimmermuseum.org
www.youthink.org
The Zimmer Children’s Museum
of Jewish Community Centers
of Greater Los Angeles is a
beneficiary of The Jewish Federation
Public
Hours:
www.zimmershowandtel.org
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and
Sunday 12:30pm – 5:00pm
For
visitsChildren’s
call: 323 761-8994
Thegroup
Zimmer
Museum
of Jewish Community Centers
of Greater Los Angeles is a
beneficiary of The Jewish Federation
Big Thanks to Our Youngest Donor
S
upport for the
Zimmer Museum
and its programs comes
from many places. A
generous donation we
received recently was
accompanied by a note
that read,
“I wanted to put money
into our Jewish community
to help children learn
about their heritage.”
What makes this particular gift
special is that it is from 8th-grader
Marisa Tashman, a recent bat mitzvah.
Thank you for your generous contribution, Marisa, and congratulations on
becoming our youngest Discovery
Council member.