Free Admission to The FHM on Saturday, September 24th!
Sarah Hagerty, Public Relations Intern at The Florida Holocaust Museum
This Saturday (9/24) admission to The Florida Holocaust Museum will be free of charge, as part of St. Petersburg’s Arts Alive Free Museum Day and Smithsonian magazine’s annual Museum Day Live! Recently named the #1 museum to visit in St. Petersburg – Clearwater by USA Today, The Florida Holocaust Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, with all current exhibits open, including the permanent exhibit History, Heritage, and Hope, as well as two new exhibits: Reflections on Man’s Fate: Artwork by Judith Weinshall Liberman and Women of Ravensbrück: Portraits of Courage.
Reflections on Man’s Fate features paintings and textile works by Judith Weinshall Liberman, an Israel-born artist who came to America after completing high school. Drawn from works in the Museum’s permanent collection, the exhibit includes wall hangings and works on canvas from Liberman’s Holocaust Paintings, Holocaust Wall Hangings, Skull Series and Genocide Series. Her work focuses on the state of mankind and the human condition, especially the magnitude and horror of one of history’s darkest periods.
Erin Blankenship, The Florida Holocaust Museum’s Curator of Exhibitions and Collections, emphasized that current visitors “have the opportunity to explore the lessons of the Holocaust from the unique viewpoint of women artists, women Survivors and women upstanders.” In particular, “Judith Liberman’s paintings and textile works present one artist’s attempt to grapple with different aspects of the Holocaust narrative while also allowing the artist to ask personal questions about her beliefs and opinions.”
Another female-driven exhibit, Women of Ravensbrück: Portraits of Courage is an exhibit by artist Julia Terwilliger, which documents the horror of Ravensbruck, the Nazi’s major concentration camp for women. Women from a variety of nationalities and religious backgrounds were imprisoned at Ravensbruck and, subjected to unspeakable horrors, few survived. The exhibit is focused specifically on the women of Ravensbruck and their experiences throughout the Holocaust, shown through a unique collection of art, photographs, and historical artifacts.
Since its inception 25 years ago, The Florida Holocaust Museum has been dedicated to the preservation of Holocaust memory, as well as education and working to prevent future instances of hatred and intolerance. The Florida Holocaust Museum’s participation in Free Museum Day allows visitors a unique opportunity to experience The FHM’s exhibits free of charge, and to learn about and remember the magnitude of suffering marked by the Holocaust.
