56 | JUNE 9 • 2022
ARTS&LIFE
ART
“On our opening weekend in May,
a video was taken of the young artists
reacting to seeing their enlarged
picture and their names next to it.
They were so excited. So were we.”
Margolis was touched emotionally
by a mom reacting to the image Sezer’s
Diary from Turkey. It shows a boy
in a wheelchair included in playing
basketball. The associated slogan (“I
am not defined by an inanimate object.
Look at me and not my wheelchair.”)
comes from Alabama.
“The mother told me that she has
a child in a wheelchair,” Margolis
recalled. “She said she can’t wait
to bring her child down to see the
banner because her child will feel so
comfortable by seeing this huge picture
of a kid in a wheelchair playing with
others.”
Docents have been trained to guide
groups and individuals, and there is
an educational component available to
teachers.
GETTING THE PROJECT STARTED
The Sarasota initiative was motivated
by a traveling exhibit sponsored by
Jerusalem’s Museum on the Seam,
which defines itself as a socio-political
contemporary art museum.
In getting the program started in
Ann Arbor, Margolis established a
nonprofit organization, set up a board
of directors and activated volunteer
committees — all while Margolis
and Lichter raised some $200,000
from interested corporations and
organizations.
Sponsors include public and private
schools, varied ethnic and religious
groups, and arts associations. Among
Jewish affiliates supporting the
program are the Jewish Federation of
Greater Ann Arbor, Jewish Community
Foundation of Greater Ann Arbor,
Jewish Family Services, Congregation
Beth Israel and Temple Beth Emeth.
“The art is divided among the four
participating parks — Gallup Park and
Leslie Science and Nature Center in
Ann Arbor as well as Riverside Park
and Parkridge Community Center in
Ypsilanti — to bring together our two
communities that are close but don’t do
a lot of things together,” Margolis said.
“The most banners, 39, are in Gallup
Park.
“People can go any time the parks are
open, and we are giving free field trips
to schools and camps. We’re paying for
the buses and will have docents in the
parks to take them on tour.”
With the objective of encouraging
conversation, Margolis approached a
young boy and asked what he thought
about an image (Liberty Enlightening
the World) from Oregon that showed
the Statue of Liberty with the face of
a person of color. The phrase (“Don’t
wait for better leaders; become one.”)
was submitted from Florida.
The boy apparently remembered
actually seeing the Statue of Liberty
and commented that the pictured
woman is not green as he remembered
the statue.
“Now that comment could be a
meaningful conversation starter,”
Margolis said.
“Nancy and I have talked about
the exhibit and ideas throughout
the community,” Lichter explained.
“We were successful in standing up
the project within one year because
organizations and people we approached
in our community resonated with the
project’s mission.”
ABOVE: Liberty Enlightening the World
RIGHT: Visitors to the exhibit’s opening in May.
continued from page 54