Arts and Culture

TJMHC Unveils Mural, Opens Up to Local Collaboration

This past Sunday, Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC) unveiled our new mural to the public. The mural was painted by high school students participating in the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson’s Minor Mutiny Teen Council, which provides teens with the opportunity to participate in public art projects… Read more »

Butterfly Trail Tour on Jan. 28 Invites Tucsonans to Choose Hope Over Hate

Remembrance and hope, in Hebrew zikaron v’tikvah, are the themes of the Butterfly Project, an international effort to teach social justice through the lessons of the Holocaust. On Sunday, Jan. 28, from 1 to 4 p.m., Southern Arizona residents and visitors can travel Tucson’s Butterfly Trail, seven installations of… Read more »

Announcing the Tucson J International Film Festival

Lights… camera… action! The Tucson J International Film Festival opens January 11, with in-person and virtual screenings and post-film programs for select films through January 21, and virtual screenings of most films continuing through January 31. The 2024 Tucson J International Film Festival is multi-access, running from January 11… Read more »

Op-Ed: Tucson’s Multifaith Coalition Shows Up for Pride

What comes to mind when you think of a parade? Music, dancing, fanciful clothing, even a float or two? A  Pride parade is all that and more: it marks an exuberant and enthusiastic celebration for and by the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual) community. (The… Read more »

Renowned Author Dara Horn Kicks Off a Diverse Season of Arts at the Tucson J

All are invited to join The Tucson Jewish Community Center (the J or the Tucson J) for Dara Horn, “Setting Our Minds Toward the New Year” on Sunday, September 10 at 6:30pm. The acclaimed National Book Award Winner and author of six books including, People Love Dead Jews will… Read more »

Tucson Artist Facilitates Healing Through Art

This article was originally published by the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Artist Beth Surdut is a wildlife illustrator, environmental educator, stained glass designer and writer. She began painting on silk in the 1980s, starting with scarves, which have been on display in the Smithsonian, in Washington, D.C., and… Read more »

Tucson Portrait Story Art(ish) LIVE Festival, an Immersive Art Experience, is Coming to the Jewish Community Center

The Tucson J invites the entire community to campus Sunday, March 12 from 1-4pm for “Tucson Portrait Story Art(ish) LIVE Festival,” an immersive art experience in partnership with local artist and long-time community member, Lauri Kaye of Create for the People Ventures, and Southern Arizona Arts + Culture Alliance.… Read more »

Wyatt Earp’s Jewish connection and more included in a new documentary

When Josephine Marcus ran away from home in 1880, it is hard to imagine just how shocked her California-based parents must have felt. Teenage Josephine dreamt of becoming an actress and a dancer. These weren’t exactly the plans made by her Jewish immigrant family and Hollywood didn’t yet exist.… Read more »

The sound of music in art: Kinesthetic artist Howard Kline

Howard Kline is a kinesthetic artist. “Music inspires my art,” he says, and it has been a major influence on his paintings. Visual artists work with their sense of touch or sight, but Kline warms up and initiates his day in the studio by first stepping into a soundproof… Read more »

Human rights lawyer appointed as new Jewish History Museum director

Gugulethu Moyo, executive director of the Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center in Tucson (Photo courtesy Moyo)

Gugulethu Moyo, the new executive director of Tucson’s Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center, comes to the job with a unique set of qualifications, encompassing both her career as an international human rights lawyer and her personal Jewish journey. In November, the museum’s board of directors unanimously approved her appointment… Read more »

Tucson International Jewish Film Festival’s ‘Feeding Our Souls’ documents local shul’s farm project

A Congregation Bet Shalom member shows off eggs laid by the shul's chickens, in the short film 'Feeding Our Souls." (Courtesy Tucson International Jewish Film Festival)

Congregation Bet Shalom members young and old — but mostly young — are featured in a short film, “Feeding Our Souls,” that will debut as part of the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival. But the chickens are definitely the stars. Raising chickens has been a central part of the… Read more »

P.S. columnist publishes new coffee table volume

What do Laura and George Bush, Hillary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Joseph Lieberman, Geraldo Rivera, Itzhak Perlman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Alex Trebek have in common?  They are all highlighted with local Tucsonans in Sharon Klein’s new coffee table book, “Let’s Schmooze About Your News: Reflections of the P.S.… Read more »

Six virtual Jewish film festivals to catch this winter

A scene from "Feeding Our Souls," a Tucson-based documentary that is part of the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival

Virtual Jewish film festivals are providing film buffs with a smorgasbord of options to lift hearts and minds during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The 30th anniversary of the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, already underway, begins its streaming of “Standing Up, Falling Down” with comedy stars Billy Crystal and… Read more »

With real-life travel curtailed, Tucsonan’s Jewish travel podcast is unique opportunity

A travel group (minus leader and photographer Tom Price) on tour in Fez, Morocco, once a major center of Jewish life. (Photo courtesy Tom Price)

International travelers seeking new and exciting experiences can depart today from Tucson, or anywhere, at no cost, with no passport, and with no travel restrictions. All that’s required is an Internet connection, a digital device, some curiosity, and one’s attention for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. “Around… Read more »

‘Taste of Tucson’ cookbook includes recipes from renowned local chefs

Local food columnist and photographer Jackie Alpers’ cookbook, “Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona,” is replete with recipes from well-known local chefs such as Suzana Davila of Café Poca Cosa and The Little One, and Carlotta Flores of El Charro Café. Published… Read more »

Teen’s book celebrates multicultural friendships

High school seniors Bella Wexler of Tucson and Amber Juang of Taiwan have been friends since they were fifth-grade students together at Ventana Vista Elementary School in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills School District. They’ve maintained that friendship across 7,000 miles since Amber’s family returned to Taiwan during the girls’ first… Read more »