ARTS &
CULTURE
JENNIFER SELCO | DIRECTOR OF JEWISH LIFE & LEARNING
In 2018, the Jewish Life & Learning department expanded
to three full-time professionals. Our two Arts and Culture
Program Managers, Katie Spector and Jeremy Thompson, will
allow The Tucson J to continue to be a center for arts & culture
in Tucson and extend our reach into the Jewish and broader
Tucson community.
As the town square of the community, The J is a place for all
people of all ages to gather, celebrate, mourn, and engage in
dialogue together. In 2018, The Tucson J brought together
people with different connections to Judaism several times
throughout the year. Through our membership to the Jewish
Book Council, we were able to host Rabbi Naomi Levy, who
discussed her book, Einstein and the Rabbi. This summer we
hosted a fun-filled one day adult summer camp – after all,
why should kids be the only ones who get to enjoy the Jewish
summer camp experience?! Over 300 women and teens came
together to make and braid challah at the Mega Challah Bake,
in partnership with Chabad Tucson. The J was proud to host
a Shabbat celebration with three Tucson congregations on the
80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Singing the shehecheyanu,
blessing recited on first time occasions, brought tears to many
people’s eyes. The Chanukah Cantata, orchestrated by Bob
Hanshaw, was a festive, and musical program featuring all
of Tucson’s cantors and soloists that brought together 500+
attendees on the 7th night of Chanukah.
The Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden continue to be
places that provoke thought and discussion, and serve as venues
for all ages at The Tucson J. ECE children bring in Shabbat,
and start the new week together with Havdalah in the Fine
Art Gallery. In commemoration of Kristallnacht, the Tucson
J, hosted New Works from Broken Glass, featuring submitted
works by professional artists and mirror frame, challah plate,
and mezuzah projects completed by community members.
Funding for projects was made possible through the Lifelong
Engagement in the Arts Grant from the Arizona Commission
on the Arts. The show was a collaboration between Sonoran
Glass School, and the gallery opening was supported by
the Community Arts Foundation in Tucson and Southern
Arizona, the Rose Petal Foundation, and Jewish Family &
Children’s Services. Other gallery shows have featured the
Tucson Jewish Artist Group, Elliot Heiman, and Lauri Kaye.
During the week, ECE children walk through the sculpture
garden and talk about the different things they see. Camp J
hosted a scavenger hunt over the summer, and encouraged
children to find the jack rabbit, and identify whose thumbprint
rests in our garden. The entire community gathered together
for a Moroccan Night, hosted by Tamir and Chen, the
community’s 2017-2018 shinshinim (emissaries), and families
and young adults celebrated Shabbat & Sukkot together in the
fall. We have empaneled a four-person jury with leadership
from TMA, MOCA, Yun Gee Park’s Gallery, and the Drawing
Studio for our 2019-2020 Sculpture Garden Exhibit.