The WPA at 75: Social Art Then and Now October 21, 2010

PANEL DISCUSSION
The WPA at 75: Social Art Then and Now

Does public art still matter today? Explore the intersection of culture and social responsibility 75 years after the founding of the WPA (Works Progress Administration), which created some of American’s most influential cultural projects, with artist Owen Smith (The New Yorker), journalist and critic Oscar Villalon (The California Report), and historians Fred Rosenbaum (Cosmopolitans) and Joel Schechter (Messiahs of 1933). The evening includes a selection of recordings from the Museum’s StoryCorps StoryBooth, a program inspired by the WPA.

Panelists include Fred Rosenbaum, founding director of Lehrhaus Judaica and author of Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area; New Yorker cover artist and California College of the Arts professor Owen Smith; San Francisco State University professor Joel Schechter, author of Messiahs of 1933: How American Yiddish Theatre Survived Adversity through Satire; and Oscar Villalon, journalist and former editor of the San Francisco Chronicle Book Review.

This program is in collaboration with Zakheim: The Art of Prophetic Justice, featuring photographic panels on view from October 15 - December 30, and original paintings from October 15 - November 30, at the Jazz Heritage Center, presented by Lehrhaus Judaica.

DATE: Thursday, October 21, 2010

TIME: 7-9 PM

WHERE:
Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission Street
(between Third and Fourth streets)
San Francisco, CA 94103

INFORMATION:
[email protected] or call 415.655.7800.

ADMISSION:
FREE with Museum admission of $5 after 5 PM.

Official Website: http://thecjm.org