26TH ANNUAL FALL FUNDRAISER
Editor's Letter
Sharpening The Focus
D
ebbie Iwrey and her husband, Alvin, of West
Bloomfield are big fans of Annie Leibovitz's strik-
ingly stylish portrait photography of American
musicians, many of whom are icons. So after opening a
mailed invitation, she went to her calendar to make a note to
call the Detroit Institute of Arts to make reservations for the
members-only preview days show-
casing the 70-portrait exhibit "Annie
Leibovitz: American Music!'
That's when Iwrey discovered that
the preview days fell on Sept. 22-23
— Rosh Hashanah.
The conflict is yet another example
of insensitivity in the secular com-
munity toward the Jewish community
although there's no anti-Semitism at
work here. Jews are among the best
donors and biggest boosters of the
DIA, a cultural jewel. And the Iwreys
have been DIA Founders Society members for 25 years.
To compound matters, Leibovitz, 56, is Jewish! And the
conflict wasn't an oversight. The Leibovitz exhibition invita-
tion had a note in fine print stating that if Rosh Hashanah
prevented attendance, special arrangements would be made.
Leibovitz, a San Francisco Art Institute graduate and former
Rolling Stone magazine photographer, is not scheduled to
appear during the 13-week run at the DIA.
After Iwrey and others complained about missing out, the
DIA scheduled three private guided tours of the Leibovitz
exhibition for 3 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 5, Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.
These tours won't include the Macy's American Music concert
with Shahida Nurullah or the "Annie Leibovitz: Her Life &
Work" lecture by DIA associate curator Nancy Barr. The con-
cert and lecture will highlight the preview
days.
Iwrey called these tours an unacceptable
alternative. And I can understand why. She
urged several Jewish friends who are DIA
members to register their dismay as well.
to fall on one of the High Holidays? Preview days for major
exhibits would never fall on Easter or Christmas. I don't know
about Ramadan.
Ideally, the preview weekend should have been rescheduled,
even if it was later in the exhibition run and was called some-
thing else. Alternatively, the DIA could have scored points
with Jewish patrons by inviting them to take part in a High
Holidays season mid-week preview replete with a condensed
lecture and another performer if Shahida Nurullah were not
available. Why should it matter that the exhibition is opening
to the public on Sept. 24?
ADL Reaction
The Bloomfield Township-based Anti-Defamation League
also heard complaints about the poor timing. "The Jewish
community is a strong, vital, albeit dwindling population in
Metro Detroit:' said ADL Executive Director Betsy Kellman,
"but our holidays are an essential part of our identity and too
often ignored by the secular community!"
We must not be afraid to speak up in protest when event
scheduling with a direct appeal to Jews bumps up against one
of our holiest days.
As Kellman put it, "The secular community must take
notice and realize that all groups deserve to be respected and
considered when scheduling takes place!'
Last year, Lawrence Technological University in Southfield
was forced to cancel a diversity series talk on affirmative
action after the ADL and campus took complaints. The talk
had been scheduled for Yom Kippur.
Debbie Iwrey isn't mad out of spite. She just wants the
chance to enjoy the fruits of her membership at the museum
she dearly loves and first visited at age 4.
"My hope," she said, "is that the DIA and other institutions
involving the Jewish community would
make an effort to avoid these kinds of
conflict in the future!'
Because the DIA staff knew about
the scheduling problem well ahead of
time, it could have shown real sensitivity
had it asked Jewish communal leaders
DIA Response
from Federation, the Jewish Community
Kim Baker, the DIA's director of mem-
Council or the ADL to weigh in before
bership and annual fund, fielded the
moving ahead. I'm confident such out-
Photographer Annie Leibovitz
complaints; to his credit, he has been
reach would have struck a satisfactory
responsive to callers and the JN alike. He
compromise.
attributed the conflict to the museum's construction work and
This episode yields a lesson about really doing your home-
exhibition schedule. Those two factors didn't make it feasible
work if you run a secular institution in a metropolitan area
to have the preview days any other time based on availability
that's culturally, ethnically and religiously rich. That we're so
of the Leibovitz exhibition, he told me. The exhibition has
wound up about something seemingly mundane as museum
been on a worldwide tour; Detroit is the final stop.
scheduling reinforces just how high a value local Jews place
"We try our very best to be sensitive to the religious and
on the DIA.
cultural traditions of our members, but sometimes circum-
I would have been equally troubled had the conflict gone
stances prevail," Baker said.
unnoticed in the Jewish community. That would have meant
Each of the private events in November will begin with a
Jewish DIA members either were choosing the photographic
reception and in-depth opening remarks by the DIA's Nancy
preview over holiday observance or were too indifferent about
Barr. She'll also lead the guided tours of the exhibition.
DIA programming to care.
"Numerous members spoke with me directly, responding to
For secular event planners, please make a note that Rosh
our offer to find alternative arrangements to view the exhibi-
Hashanah in 2007 lasts two days beginning at sundown Sept.
tion:' Baker said. "Those with whom I spoke will be able to
12. Yom Kippur is only one day beginning at sundown on
attend one of our special tours!'
Sept. 21.
I appreciate the scaled-back November accommodation,
Let's work to strengthen Metro Detroit's cultural bonds, not
but the bigger issue remains: Why must the preview days for
weaken them. E
an exhibition by a hugely popular Jewish photographer have
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September 14 > 2006
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