54 | JUNE 9 • 2022 

ARTS&LIFE
ART

“Embracing Our Differences SE Michigan” 
can be viewed at parks in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

Art in the Park

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T

he beauty of nature serves 
as the setting for the 
beauty of artistic design 
during an exhibit with worldwide 
representation and a unifying theme 
— diversity, equity and inclusion.
The exhibit, “Embracing Our 
Differences SE Michigan,” is spread 
across two parks in Ann Arbor and 
two parks in Ypsilanti, and it will be 
up through the end of September. 
Sixty vinyl banners (billboard 
size at 16 feet wide by 12 feet high) 
enlarge images representing ideas by 
local and distant artists paired with 
slogans submitted independently 
by other interested contributors. 
While this is the first year the 
exhibit is being shown in Michigan, 
it follows a 19-year tradition of 
similar displays changing annually 
in Sarasota, Fla. 
At the helm of bringing the 
images and ideas to Washtenaw 
County are Nancy Margolis and 
Evie Lichter, friends who divide 

their time between Michigan and 
Florida and take part nonstop with 
activities in the Jewish community.
“We’re hoping that parents will 
bring their children, teachers will 
bring their classes, and everyone 
will be moved by the art, learn 
something from the art and start 
conversations about being open 
to people who are different from 
themselves,” said Margolis, former 
founding executive director of 
the Jewish Community Center of 
Greater Ann Arbor and member of 
Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor.
“We’ve had school groups every 
day since we started and are 
continually scheduling them into 
the end of the various school years. 
We want to discuss ways in which 
diversity enriches our lives.”
The banners address race, 
ethnicity, age, sexual orientation 
and health concerns. Thirty-four 
appeared in Sarasota in 2021; 26 
represent the work of Washtenaw 
County artists in a range of ages.

“What impresses me most about 
the exhibit is the international 
flavor,” said Lichter, former 
president of the Jewish Federation of 
Washtenaw County and a member 
of Beth Israel Congregation in Ann 
Arbor. “Last year, when the Sarasota 
team did an internet call for artists 
and phrases, they got about 17,000 
responses.” 
Art and slogans were submitted 
by people representing 123 countries 
with a jury choosing the ones 
entered into the display.
“We began asking for local 
artists and phrases last year, and 
one image that was chosen had 
been coordinated by an Ypsilanti 
art teacher who had five students 
working together,” Lichter said.
“
At the center of their picture 
(Diversity and Inclusion to the World) is a 
representation of a globe surrounded 
by youngsters of different heritage 
holding various flags. A slogan from 
Italy (‘This seat is taken; it’s yours.’) 
accompanies the image.

continued on page 56

