Chanukah mural

When the pandemic hit, it scuttled plans for the second iteration of the Jewish Street Art Festival, set for summer 2020. So we pivoted from the original plan of flying artists to one city to paint together, and for Chanukah 2020, we organized 8 murals in 8 cities around the US and Canada, where our artists brought light to their home communities.

My mural at the Edlavitch JCC in Washington, DC, of a giant 17ft menora-tree, celebrates both Chanukah and the role of institutions like the JCC in fostering Jewish life and growth through culture and education. It was important to the JCC that their preschoolers, ages 3-5, actively participate in painting the mural. How do we include them, since they're too short to paint murals!? After I completed the background, the kids sponge-painted fallen leaves with me using leaf-shaped sponges in the color of their choice. To make this even more of a communal project, every day of Chanukah at 2pm, a different community leader, including past and present JCC presidents, directors, and staff, would climb the ladder to "light" it with stencils (and guidance) I provided.

During the two years the mural was up (it has since been painted over), the mural became the setting for a range of JCC programs and activities. It warmed my heart that at family programs, still outside because of the pandemic, children would bring their parents over to the mural and confidently announce that they made it!