Photojournalist B.A. Van Sise spent the past year photographing 31 Holocaust survivors who are part of the Museum’s Speakers Bureau and Gallery Educators. Eyewitness brings Holocaust survivors into the community with the Museum’s first public art installation.
The second phase of monumental installation, Eyewitness by photojournalist B.A. Van Sise was unveiled at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust on Wednesday, May 10.
The installation consists of 20 photographs of Holocaust survivors who live in New York City at a large scale (between 4 and 13 feet high) filling the windows of the Museum’s façade.
Phase 2 consists of 11 portraits that are placed in windows on the third floor opposite James Carpenter’s Reflection Passage, a permanent installation that provides a contemplative space as people move through the Museum.
“These images honor the indomitable spirit of Holocaust survivors,” said Museum President and CEO Michael S. Glickman. “As New York’s contribution to the global responsibility to never forget, Eyewitness presents a striking visual narrative featuring individual experiences of the Holocaust nearly 80 years later.”
For B.A. Van Sise, photographing these portraits has been life-changing. “In a 15-year career as a photojournalist, this has possibly been the single hardest assignment I have ever taken on,” said Van Sise. “I chat with the subjects, listening to their stories, and I end up carrying part of their lives within me, after I leave. I was an elementary school teacher in a previous life, and many of the survivors were roughly the age of the first graders I used to teach, when they went through the Holocaust. Meeting these people, you realize: they were never children.”
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MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE AND
BATTERY PARK CITY AUTHORITY
ANNOUNCE FREE MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP
FOR BATTERY PARK CITY RESIDENTS
To thank the Battery Park City community, and in conjunction with its upcoming 20th anniversary, the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is partnering with the Battery Park City Authority to offer free Museum memberships to Battery Park City residents through June 30, 2018. The Community Membership program provides all the benefits of an Individual level membership, including free Museum admission, discounted or free program tickets, and more.
A commemorative Community Membership card has been designed specifically for this program. Community Membership cards may be claimed in person at the Museum’s admission desk with proof of residency in one of Battery Park City’s three zip codes (10280, 10281, and 10282). Once the request is received, the Community Membership card and a welcome packet will be mailed to the resident.
“As New York’s Holocaust memorial museum, the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is extremely fortunate to be situated in Battery Park City, poised between the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island and the Freedom Tower,” said Museum President & CEO Michael S. Glickman. “We are very grateful to our neighbors for helping this institution to flourish and, as the Museum approaches its 20th anniversary, we want to take this opportunity to express appreciation through the gift of a membership program exclusive to BPC residents.”
“The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust offers visitors an incredible opportunity to learn about the atrocities of the past in a setting that never fails to provide hope for the future,” said Shari C. Hyman, President and Chief Operating Officer, Battery Park City Authority. “By providing free membership to Battery Park City residents, Michael and his team are providing a unique chance for our community to have open access to what the Museum has to offer. Our shared hope is that greater local engagement will yield an even larger museum community beyond Battery Park City’s borders.”
Since 1997, the Museum of Jewish Heritage has welcomed more than two million visitors; it maintains a collection of 30,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies and contains classrooms, a 400-seat theater (Edmond J. Safra Hall), special exhibition galleries, a resource center for educators, and a memorial art installation, Garden of Stones, designed by internationally acclaimed sculptor Andy Goldsworthy.
“I extend an invitation to the all BPC residents to see the Museum as a community resource and to take advantage of all it has to offer, from thought-provoking exhibitions, to outstanding talks and performances, to young professional events, to family programs, to a delicious meal at Lox café,” added Glickman.