FIU Professor Tudor Parfitt will moderate a discussion with Shirley & Arthur Sotloff about the life and career of their son Steven Sotloff and the issue of wartime journalism.
This provocative film explores, through intimate testimonies and portraits, the multiple legacies of the Auschwitz identification numbers tattooed on survivors as well as the meanings they took on in the years following the war for them and their descendants. The film is presented in conjunction with our current exhibition Tamim and will be followed by a discussion with FIU Professor Oren Stier and photographer Zachary Balber.
The museum exhibition honors the Holocaust survivor-turned-mega-designer’s life, work and legacy and will feature photographs of Leiber alongside a comprehensive selection of Judith Leiber’s bags, belts, pillboxes and glasses, from collectors in Florida as well as from The Leiber Collection.
Jews of Florida: Centuries of Stories the new book by Marcia Jo Zerivitz is NOW available for purchase in the Orovitz Museum Store at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. The book is first comprehensive history of the Jews of Florida from colonial times to the present and a sweeping tapestry of voices spanning centuries.
Click Here to Purchase your copy TODAY. Jews of Florida: Centuries of Stories makes a great gift for anyone!
October 2, 2019—February 15, 2020
Mira Lehr, a self-described eco-feminist artist, is a native Miamian whose career spans over five decades. Lehr’s nature-based imagery encompasses painting, design, sculpture and video installations. Mira Lehr: A Walk in the Garden is a site-specific installation that takes the viewer through a magical journey in a fantastical garden.
November 20, 2019– March 15, 2020
Zack Balber uses portrait photography to uncover the camouflaged identity (tattoos) of some of Judaism’s most unconventional Jews. Balber, Jewish himself, connected with the men he photographed while rediscovering his own heritage.
January 9, 2020 - March 1, 2020
Over one million Jewish men, women and children were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest extermination camp during the Holocaust. The so-called Auschwitz Album is the only known visual documentation of the arrival of a transport of Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The compelling photographs in this exhibition created by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem document the “processing” of Jews from the Carpatho-Ruthenia region up to but not including their mass murder.
May 7 – September 13, 2020
Will Eisner, one of the earliest comic book artists, was the creator of the comic book The Spirit and the father of the graphic novel. His work spanned a career of seven decades, beginning with working for Jerry Iger at Wow! magazine in the 1930s all the way through inventing the graphic novel in the late 1970s and teaching and illustrating until his death in 2005. In 1942, Eisner was drafted into the army, where his talents came in handy. He illustrated posters, comic strips and guides to entertain the troops in a language they could all relate to. Following the war, while still making The Spirit series, Eisner formed the American Visuals Corporation and his clients included RCA Records, The Baltimore Colts and New York Telephone. In the late 1970s, Eisner created his first graphic novel, A Contract with God, which ushered in a new age of the comic book – a short story illustrated book which he called sequential art. Eisner’s creativity and innovation were so well-respected that the prestigious awards given for creative achievement in American comic books are called the Eisner Awards.
The exhibition will feature original illustrations, first edition comic books from The Spirit series, works from his army days, graphic novels and self-portraits.
Opens March 1, 2020
Judith Leiber: Master Craftsman tells the story of a fearless woman ahead of her time. Madonna, Beyoncé, Katie Perry, Sarah Jessica Parker, JLo, and Blake Lively are just a handful of the of A-list fans of Judith Leiber evening bags. The great, late designer (Leiber passed away in 2018) made handbags go viral—on the red carpet and off—long before social media even existed. Leiber’s innovative style is immortalized by her beloved animal and food themed minaudières. Bold, bright crystal-covered animals, desserts, and produce are among the quirky designs that have graced the arms of royals, first ladies, socialites and fashionistas for decades.
Among her many awards, Judith received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 1994. Today, her handbags are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian Institution, The Victoria and Albert Museum and many other collections worldwide.
This exhibition honors the Holocaust survivor-turned-mega-designer’s life, work and legacy and will feature photographs of Leiber alongside a comprehensive selection of Judith Leiber’s bags, belts, pillboxes and glasses, from collectors in Florida as well as from The Leiber Collection.
Scheduled to Open in August, 2020
Hello Gorgeous, is an eclectic exhibition of costumes, photos, videos, record album covers and other objects, celebrating the life of Barbra Streisand. She refused to change her surname, or her nose (as many women in show-business would have done), illustrating a fierce force to be contended with. The majority of the artifacts in this show are from the collection of Lou Papalas, of Palm Springs, California, who amassed some 100,000 pieces of Streisand memorabilia. Items on view are set to include the gown she wore on her first television special, 1965’s My Name is Barbra, which unspools silently on a vintage TV; the beaded gown she wore in Funny Girl; and the robe she wore as the cross-dresser in Yentl. Captivating photos will include rare scenes from this superstar’s life including mundane moments like Streisand hanging over a kitchen sink washing out her bras to a starstruck Babs standing beside President Kennedy. Video clips play up Streisand’s influence over pop culture and include the Coffee Talk skit on Saturday Night Live in which she suddenly appears, leaving Mike Myers, Madonna and Roseanne Barr speechless—and in Myers’ character’s case, verklempt! There’s also a clip of a concert salute to Israel that has the Barbara teleconferencing with Prime Minister Golda Meir before crooning a heartfelt rendition of Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah. These are just a few of the pieces that will be on display, paying tribute to the life and times of one of our century’s most influential women.
Fall, 2020
Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music is the first large-scale museum exhibition to illustrate Leonard Bernstein’s life, Jewish identity, and social activism. Audiences may be familiar with many of Bernstein’s works, notably West Side Story, but not necessarily with how he responded to the political and social crises of his day. Visitors see another side depicted, one of an individual who expressed the restlessness, anxiety, fear, and hope of an American Jew living through World War II and the Holocaust, Vietnam, and other turbulent social change—what Bernstein referred to as his “search for a solution to the 20th‐century crisis of faith.”
The exhibition explores his Jewish identity and social activism in the context of his position as an American conductor and his works as a composer. It features interactive media and sound installations along approximately 100 historic artifacts, including Bernstein’s piano, marked-up scores, a conducting suit, an annotated copy of Romeo and Juliet used for the development of West Side Story, personal family Judaica, his composing easel, and a number of various objects from his work studio.
301 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Phone: 305-672-5044
Fax: 305-672-5933
Open Tuesday-Sunday from 10am-5pm
Closed Mondays and holidays.
Adults $12.00
Senior/Student $8.00
Family $24.00
School Groups (Per Child) $2.50
Adult Groups(20 or more) $8.00
Free Admission on Saturday
Museum Members, FIU Students, Faculty & Staff FREE
Erica Corsano
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JMOF-FIU is handicap accessible. To request materials in accessible format, sign language interpreters, and/or any accommodation to participate in any program or meeting, please contact Howard Horowitz, Finance Manager at 786-972-3171 or hhorowit@fiu.edu five days in advance to initiate your request.
The Museum is supported by individual contributions, foundations, memberships and grants from the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture,the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners and the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council, Funding Arts Network.
Jewish Museum of Florida - FIU