The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is proud to offer the community access to collections that feature a variety of mediums in our Leon Family Gallery, located on the second floor landing at the Simon Family JCC. 

 

 

Each exhibit we present throughout the year represents Israeli and/or Jewish artists, spotlighting talent from within our Tidewater community, or from around the globe.

 

All exhibits are free and open to the public. Upcoming exhibits and meet-the-artist events are announced in our twice-monthly newsletter. Click here to sign up for that correspondence. 

 

Gallery Hours
Monday – Thursday | 9 am – 8:00 pm
Friday | 9 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday  | 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

 

CURRENTLY ON EXHIBIT AT THE LEON FAMILY GALLERY

 

 

 

Artist Discussion

Thursday, March 23, 7:30

The Four Corners of the World: A Celebration of World Wildlife

from renowned photographer, environmental diplomat, entrepreneur and explorer, Roie Galitz.

 

Roie travels to the world's most extreme habitats and documents animals as never seen before. Acutely aware of nature's distress as human activity increases its influence, Galitz has become a Greenpeace Ambassador, performed 3 TED talks, and is a keynote speaker in many events worldwide. As an entrepreneur, Roie has founded several companies with the love for photography, creation and our amazing world at heart. He serves in executive boards and advisory boards on sustainability and pressing environmental issues.

 

As a wildlife photographer, Roie pushes his limits, both creatively and physically. He travels all over the world, to the most extreme, just to return with the most epic images he can. His images have won over a hundred international awards and were published in countless magazines including the Smithsonian, National Geographic and alike. Joint and solo exhibitions were held in museums and galleries in 5 continents and his fine art prints are sold in limited series. His Videography has also reached amazing peaks, including participating in 2 films in the BBC, short videos in National Geographic and other TV channels. The BBC film "Snow Bears" film has won the GDT award for excellence in photography.

 

Generous support for this exhibit provided by the Embassy of Israel. 

 

 

 

 

CURRENTLY ON EXHIBIT IN THE COPELAND CARDO ATRIUM

 

 

PhotoHouse: Israel @ 75
Rudi Weissenstein, Curated by Ben Peter

The world-renowned PhotoHouse is one of Israel’s most valuable and monumental private archives of historical photographs. Founded in 1936, it has been owned and operated by the same family for three generations.

Rudi Weissenstein captured millions of photos of pre-state Israel into the beginning decades of her early statehood. His grandson, Ben Peter, currently oversees the collection, which is the largest private photo archive in Israel, comprised of approximately one million negatives.

 

Each month leading up to the community celebration of Israel @ 75 on Sunday, April 30, we will feature a rotating collection of photographs from PhotoHouse’s archive.

 

A campus-wide exhibit featuring PhotoHouse photos curated by Ben Peter will be on exhibit at the Simon Family JCC in celebration of Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, April through June, 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Generous support for this exhibit provided by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.

LIFE IN STILLS

Dir. Tamar Tal-Ana • 58 minutes • Israel • Hebrew, English

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26 · 7:30 PM

Simon Family JCC

5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Virginia Beach

LIFE IN STILLS

Includes a conversation with Photohouse owner and costar, Ben Peter

Details

 

Tickets: Free + Open to the public

Limited seating, registration strongly suggested.

 

At the age of 96, Miriam Weissenstein never imagined that she would be facing a new chapter in her life. When “The Photo House” - her late husband’s life’s work - was destined for demolition, she knew she needed help. A special relationship is forged between Miriam and her grandson, Ben, as they join forces to save the shop and its nearly one million negatives that document Israel’s defining moments. Despite the generation gap, Ben and Miriam embark on a heart-wrenching, humorous, and touching journey together.

 

Presented by The Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, & Community Partners’ 12th Annual Israel Today Series

 

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Contact Hunter Thomas, Director of Arts + Ideas, at HThomas@UJFT.org or (757) 965-6137.

 

 

 

THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS PATRONS OF THE ARTS AND SPONSORS

Marilyn and Michel Ashe
Karen and Avraham Ashkenazi
Susan P. Barr
Wendy Jo and Ronald Brodsky
Stephanie Calliott and Don London
Armond and Rose Caplan Foundation
Marsha Chenman
Billye Roy and Jeff Chernitzer
Susan and Andrew H. Cohen
Shari Friedman and Andrew King
Cheryl Dronzek
Leora and Nathan Drory
Barbara Dudley
Susan and Jim Eilberg
Lois and Barry Einhorn
Mona and Jeffrey Flax
Anne and Lawrence Fleder
Alan and Esther Fleder Foundation
Alicia and Robert Friedman
Bootsie Goldmeier
Jeri Jo and William Halprin
Marcia Hofheimer

Ellen Hundley
Jaffe Family Fund
Connie Jacobson
Carol and Joel Jason
Betsy and Ed Karotkin
Brenda and Larry Klar
Jodi and Jay Klebanoff
Anne and Edward Kramer
Celia Krichman Charitable Trust
Sierra and Steven Lautman
Ruth and Edward Legum
Robert Lehman
Caren and Stephen Leon
David Leon
Sandra Porter Leon and Miles Leon
Fern and Larry Leibowitz
Betty Ann and Scott Levin
Karen and Richard Lombart
Robin and Matthew Mancoll
Marcia and Burt Moss
Stacie and Marc Moss
Andrew Nusbaum

Elinore Porter
Lisa and Howard Roesen
Sharon and Gene Ross
Shikma and Danny Rubin
Sara Jo and Joel Rubin
Laure and Richard Saunders
Beth Scharlop and Roger Schultz
Lynn Schoenbaum
Miriam Seeherman
Patty and Herman Shelanski
Sandy and Norman Sher
Leslie and Larry Siegel
Helen Sissel
Edward Soltz
Lawrence Steingold
Renee and John Strelitz
Tidewater Jewish Foundation
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Jody and Alan Wagner
Wilks, Alper, Harwood & McIntyre, PC
Amy and Frank Zelenka
Jennifer and Rabbi Israel Zoberman

PREVIOUS EXHIBITS

 

 

Jean-Pierre Weill

Evolve: A Children's Book for Adults


Who am I?
With this question as its guide, Evolve takes readers on a philosophical and pictorial adventure into the nature of the self. Through the artistic exploration of three foundational biblical stories, Evolve interlaces words with pictures that delve deep into the emotionalcore. It is a modern midrash told with imagery.

 

Jean-Pierre Weill was born in Paris and grew up in New York. He is a painter and author of picture books for adults that explore philosophical and spiritual ideas. His work has been sold in galleries and museums throughout the world.

 

Jean-Pierre and his wife, sculptor Rachel Rotenberg, reside in Jerusalem.

Generous support for this exhibit provided by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.

Malkah’s Notebook : A Journey into the Mystical Aleph-Bet
Mira Z. Amiras & Josh Baum

Mira Z. Amiras was raised on her mother’s accounts of the Inquisition and Holocaust, and her father’s tales of the Hebrew aleph-bet letters and their role in the creation of the universe. She has taught Jewish mysticism, magic, and folklore along with many other topics in Jewish and Islamic Studies and the anthropology of religion.


In Josh Baum’s work as an artist and Torah scribe, he explores the Hebrew letters as sacred signs, as well as objects of profound beauty. 

 

Malkah is a child when her father tries teaching her to read Torah. As Malkah studies, she embarks on a lifelong journey in search of her beginnings—into Jewish mystical texts, far-off places, archaeological digs, ancient gods, and ultimately into the nature of existence itself. With highly evocative illustrations, Malkah’s Notebook is a love letter to the Hebrew alphabet that unlocks life’s greatest mysteries.

 

On exhibit November – December 2022.

 

In partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of idewater and UJFT's Konikoff Center for Learning