Illinois Holocaust Museum Announces New Voices of Genocide Exhibition
April 18 2024 - 11:00AM
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is proud to
announce the creation of a groundbreaking core exhibition, Spagat
Family Voices of Genocide Exhibition, which will debut on May 1,
2024. “The world has changed since the
Holocaust, but the human capacity for inhumanity has not. We need
only look at the continuation of genocide, past and present, that
still threatens the security, well-being, and lives of people
across the globe. This is why Illinois Holocaust Museum &
Education Center was founded and continues its groundbreaking
efforts: to remember the past so we can transform the future,” said
Bernard Cherkasov, Museum CEO. Through
Voices of Genocide, the Museum will be able to ensure this
exhibition teaches hundreds of thousands of visitors in the years
to come. The exhibition will help the Museum elevate voices of
Survivors and descendants of genocides from across the globe while
expanding awareness, fostering compassion and empathy, and
empowering visitors with the knowledge needed to take a stand to
prevent and respond to genocides, mass atrocities, and other human
rights violations.
“We know genocide does not just happen, which is why we must
understand and educate about how genocide occurs and why. Through
the Voices of Genocide visitors will learn about the common
conditions that exist across genocides and how knowing these
warning signs can provide an agency to work toward intervention and
prevention,” said Kelley Szany, Museum SVP of Exhibitions &
Education.
Voices of Genocide will be a first-of-its-kind exhibition,
revolutionizing the field of genocide memory and education. The
exhibition will be broken down into 7-zones addressing the
multitude of genocides throughout history and geography; exploring
the definition of genocide and the tireless work of Polish-Jewish
lawyer, Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term; the common condition
and warning signs that create a genocidal environment and the
process of repairing and rebuilding after. The exhibition will be
anchored in testimony from Survivors and descendants of genocides
in Armenia, Guatemala, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda,
and Burma to weave the disparate elements of each
atrocity into one larger message.
Funders:Harvey L. Miller Supporting FoundationPublic
Museum Capital Grants Program, Illinois Department of Natural
Resources, Illinois State MuseumNational Endowment for the
Humanities
Exhibition Production Team BluecadetBrave New
PicturesLuci CreativeRavenswood Studio
About Illinois Holocaust MuseumIllinois
Holocaust Museum & Education Center honors the Survivors and
victims of the Holocaust and transforms history into current,
relevant, and universal lessons in humanity. Through world-class
exhibitions and programs, the Museum inspires individuals and
organizations to remember the past and transform the future. The
Museum is open Wednesday through Monday from 10:00 a.m. through
5:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.ilholocaustmuseum.org or
call 847-967-4800.
- Spagat Family Voices of Genocide Exhibition
Sierra Wolff
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
847-967-4835
sierra.wolff@ilhmec.org