Pandemic silver linings for The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU

The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU recently launched their latest exhibitions, Judith Leiber: Master Craftsman and Zachary Balber: Tamim, digitally and are offering virtual tours via Zoom.

Led by curator Jackie Goldstein, the tours have been booked by organizations across the country (and one in Canada), opening up a whole new audience to this South Florida cultural institution.

“We have always been a cultural hub for the community, where people could find refuge, education and inspiration. During this very difficult time in the world, keeping that sense of community is more important than ever. We’d like to continue to offer inspiring content to our community and are focusing our efforts on bringing our content right into your home via digital exhibitions and social media content,” said Susan Gladstone, the Jewish Museum-FIU’s director.

FIU’s three museums, The Wolfsonian, The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum and The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, are currently formulating reopening strategies in close consultation with university leadership. FIU has already announced several campus-wide directives that will inform this timeline, including remote work through at least Aug. 7.

In the meantime, these tours allow for JMOF-FIU to stay connected to its constituents—both new and old. From Winnipeg, Canada, and Las Vegas, Nevada, to Baltimore, Maryland, back down to Sarasota, Florida, this time of closure has actually allowed for the small (but mighty) cultural institution to expand its audience.

“While we look forward to reopening, our staff continues to work diligently on creating virtual and digital experiences and this has led to virtual tours being booked by groups across the country, which we are very excited about,” Gladstone added.

As Jewish philanthropic groups across the United States (and beyond) seek to engage their patrons and members during this pandemic, many are partnering with JMOF-FIU to provide the programming. The Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven is one such group and recently enlisted the FIU cultural institution to provide a virtual tour of Judith Leiber: Master Craftsman.

“The women of the New Haven Jewish Federation had a delightful hour of beauty and cocktails while watching the virtual tour of Judith Leiber’s handbags and life story from the Jewish Museum of Florida,” said Nancy Cohen, co-chair of the JMOF-FIU virtual museum tour with the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven.

 Check out the exhibitions or book a virtual group tour at jmof.fiu.edu.