Jewish Foundation partners with Mayerson JCC for a ‘Season of Arts and Ideas’

The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati has announced a special one-year investment as the Presenting Sponsor of the 2012 – 2013 Season of Arts & Ideas, a program of the Mayerson JCC.

This exciting season will showcase the talents of internationally acclaimed artists, beginning with bestselling author Mitch Albom on Sunday, Oct. 21, and additional performers will be announced this fall.

By presenting world class arts and ideas to the community, the JCC is adapting successful models for cultural arts programming made famous by the JCC of San Francisco and the 92nd St. Y in New York City.

“We are very grateful for The Jewish Foundation’s support of this initiative,” said Mayerson JCC President Marc Fisher. “This Season of Arts & Ideas will help further the transformation of the JCC into the Jewish Neighborhood of Cincinnati, and enable us to partner with both Jewish and non-Jewish organizations to enhance Cincinnati’s reputation as a premier destination for first-rate speakers and artists.”

The JCC and its partners are uniquely positioned to work collaboratively with local organizations both within and beyond the Jewish community in order to further the impact of the Season of Arts & Ideas programming. As an example of this, several local Jewish agencies, as well as a local branch of the Cincinnati Public Library, have expressed interest in developing programming around the themes in Mitch Albom’s new book, The Time Keeper. This supplemental programming will take place before or after Albom’s appearance at the JCC. Similar ideas will be developed in connection with the other performances this year.

“The Jewish Foundation is committed to investing its resources in multiple areas, including those that enable the Jewish community to make significant contributions to Cincinnati’s reputation as a first-class community for arts and ideas,” said Michael R. Oestreicher, president of The Jewish Foundation. “We are pleased to be partnering with the Mayerson JCC.”

Oestreicher added that the Foundation’s investment in this Season of Arts & Ideas is intended to provide a community-wide benefit beyond just the Jewish community, along the same lines as its collaboration with The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education and Xavier University in bringing Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel to Cincinnati; its partnership with the Jewish Federation and several local Jewish agencies in supporting the Israeli choir’s participation in this summer’s World Choir Games; and its presenting sponsorship of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center, which will run from November through April, and will also feature supplemental programming throughout the year organized by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the University of Cincinnati’s Judaic Studies Department, the Mayerson Foundation, Mayerson JCC and many other local organizations.