Gallery Exhibition – Silent Auction and Sale: The Many “Voices” of Cantor Amy
Cantorial – Pastoral – Visionary – Educator – Musical
On the occasion of Cantor Amy Levy’s 20th year at Keneseth Israel (KI) and in the KI Kitchen an Art Installation by members of the TJM Artists’ Collaborative in honor of Cantor Amy
Friday April 12th – June 30, 2024
Opening reception: Sunday April 14, 2024 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm
This exhibition celebrates Cantor Amy Levy’s 20th anniversary as Cantor of Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel. It is the third exhibition drawn from our extensive Music Collection. In 2014, for Cantor Amy’s 10th anniversary we assembled an exhibition of phonograph albums covers, especially reflecting Amy’s love of Broadway.
However, for this anniversary, as you peruse the exhibition, in addition to treasures from our Music Collection, you will notice the addition of many objects that have nothing to do with music, but very much to do with food, and very much to do with Cantor Amy’s expanding interests.
In addition to her musical pursuits, her pastoral care and her work as an educator for our Bar/Bat Mitzvah kids, Cantor Amy is passionate about cooking and views food as medicine. She is a certified Hatha Yoga Teacher and Ayurvedic Practitioner. Here, at KI, she is expanding her healing efforts and interest through a new initiative “The KItchen” a space to explore wellness with programs about mind-body connections, food as medicine and food for the soul.
In that regard, she requested that the Artists of the museum’s Collaborative create artwork to decorate the KI kitchen. Of course, our artists jumped at the opportunity to celebrate our Cantor in this unusual way. Displayed in this exhibition, in addition to objects from the museum’s Music Collection, are original paintings, mosaics, stained glass, digital images and photographs, along with printed reproductions of artwork that now hangs in the KI kitchen, reproduced on a PVC surface to be kitchen resistant.
The subject matter varies from artist to artist. But they all relate somehow to Judaism as a food-centric religion. From the time of the bible, food has been revered and celebrated in our ceremonies and in our folk culture. This new, permanently installed artwork helps KI in two ways: the kitchen is now an attractive and stimulating place to work, AND, almost everything is for sale to benefit KI and Cantor Amy’s programs.
Rita Rosen Poley, TJMuseum@kenesethisrael.org
Director/Curator, The Temple Judea Museum
The Temple Judea Museum ~ TJM Artists’ Collaborative ~ Arts Alive Gallery ~ TJM Online collection
8339 Old York Rd. Elkins Park, PA 19027
(215) 887-8700, ext: 416