Phoenix group awarded grant to showcase Holocaust-era violins
Apr 9, 2018, 5:08 AM
(Violins of Hope Phoenix/Facebook)
(Violins of Hope Phoenix/Facebook)
PHOENIX — A Phoenix project was awarded a grant for a series of 2019 events that will showcase instruments used by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust.
The Arizona Community Foundation awarded a Newton and Betty Rosenzweig Fund for the Arts grant to Violins of Hope Phoenix, a project by the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.
“We were actually the first grant ever coming out of that fund,” project manager for Violins of Hope Phoenix Alison Johnston told the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix.
“We’re really honored to have been awarded the grant and have the program recognized for the importance that it will bring to the community, not only from the perspective of educating the community about the Holocaust, but also the fact that it is really probably one of the largest collaborative projects that this community has ever seen where Jewish and non-Jewish agencies are working together.”
Violins of Hope will feature more than 60 instruments restored by Israeli violinmaker Amnon Weinstein.
It’s expected that 30,000 to 50,000 community members will experience one of the events or exhibits planned. The group’s website said it hopes to bring together non-profit arts groups and other agencies together.
“Today these instruments serve not only as powerful reminders of an unimaginable experience but also reinforce key lessons of tolerance, inclusion, and diversity that are essential for today and for future generations,” says the Violins of Hope Phoenix website.
The violins will be featured in concerts and exhibitions throughout Phoenix, beginning with an Arizona Musicfest Orchestra event featuring Grammy-winning violinist Gil Shaham on Sunday, Feb. 24., 2019.
The Scottsdale Center for the Arts’ Young Arts Gallery will display the violins in an exhibit from Feb. 26, 2019, through March 24, 2019.
