Students who want to express the impact of the Holocaust through art have an opportunity to display their work through a new project launched this year by The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights. The exhibit was established in memory of Kathy Carlisle, a beloved TOLI participant and art teacher.
TOLI teachers, graduates of our domestic and international seminars, are encouraged to submit photographs of their students’ artwork that reflect the lessons they’ve learned about the Holocaust. The photographs will be posted on TOLI’s website (www.TOLInstitute.org) and social media and provided to community publications for display. The artwork could be a painting, drawing, three-dimensional sculpture of any kind, or work in any other artistic medium that speaks to them. Inspiration can come from a book or film that students have studied in class or from the larger lessons they have learned while studying the Holocaust. This project allows for multiple perspectives, and collaborations with art teachers or teachers in other disciplines are encouraged.
Kathy was a high school art teacher, photographer, and painter from Sacramento, CA, who attended the TOLI New York Summer Seminar in 2012. Those who knew her praised her artistic spirit and passion for teaching. Her beautiful work and unwavering commitment to teaching the lessons of the Holocaust have inspired many students. TOLI is now inviting those who share herdedication to create works of art that will continue her legacy.
The first submissions, from Romania and Italy, are displayed on our website. Students have created powerful drawings depicting Nazi concentration camps and deportations, such as one student from Liceul Teoretic Iulia Hasdeu Lugoj in Romania who sketched a haunting image of the Roma deportations. Others have drawn more hopeful scenarios, like a student at the Istituto superiore “B. Pinchetti” di Tirano in Italy, who drew a portrait of Holocaust survivor Lea Neufeld and her friends, who escaped to Switzerland.
Those interested should check the website to see our latest submissions as they come in. If you would like to submit student artwork, you may do so here: https://www.toli.us/submit-art-project/. We are accepting submissions through the end of this school year. Please note that for US school submissions a release form will need to be signed by parents so that we may publish the students’ names along with their artwork on our website.