Experience David Hartt: The Histories, the first artist commission to activate Beth Sholom Synagogue’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed National Historic Landmark. Afterward, join a discussion about the design of the synagogue and the role that contemporary art can play in the preservation of modern architecture.

David Hartt is an artist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania whose exhibition at Beth Sholom Synagogue is informed by the history of the congregation and considers Jewish and African diasporas in the United States. Docomomo US/PHL members will experience Hartt’s sound installation that features newly commissioned recordings of music by American composer Louis Moteau Gottschalk (1829-1869). Born in New Orleans to a Jewish father and a Creole mother, Gottschalk was the first to incorporate African American and Afro-Caribbean song within a classical idiom—a hybrid approach that anticipated ragtime and jazz by more than 50 years.

Additional visual art in the exhibition takes its cue from Gottschalk’s biography. Thoughtful and playful floral arrangements are also incorporated into the work and serve as a unique measure for handling a long-standing failing of the building.

1:00 pm: Live performance by Grammy-nominated pianist Mark Livshits (free and open to the public). Audiences are invited to explore the synagogue or sit in the main sanctuary as the music is broadcast throughout the building.

2:00 pm: David Hartt's The Histories exhibition opens (free and open to the public).

2:30 pm: Panel discussion for Docomomo US/PHL members with Emily Cooperman and Cole Akers

After taking time to tour the installation, architectural historian Emily Cooperman will enlighten us with the history of the Synagogue’s design, and curator Cole Akers will discuss how contemporary art can help expose new audiences to modern architecture (free and open to the public).

This event is FREE and open to the public. All are welcome!

Speaker list:
Emily Cooperman, architectural historian
Cole Akers, curator of The Histories and Glass House curator and special projects manager

Note: Free shuttle service will be available every 15 minutes between Beth Sholom and the Jenkintown Wyncote SEPTA station. Please look for the green Abington Jefferson Health shuttle.