Award for Jewish Holocaust Centre
Melbourne’s Jewish Holocaust Centre (JHC) has been announced the winner of the prestigious Small Museum, Permanent Exhibition Award.
Jewish Holocaust Centre
Museum Australia’s inaugural Museum and Gallery National Awards (MAGNA) were presented at the conclusion of the three-day Museums Australia National Conference held in Perth and attended by representatives of museums nation-wide.
The award, presented to JHC Executive Director, Warren Fineberg, acknowledges the Jewish Holocaust Museum’s state-of-the-art upgrade which was completed in 2010 and opened by Simon Crean MP, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Minister for Education and Minister for Social Inclusion.
“We are absolutely thrilled that we have been honoured by Australia’s peak museum body”, said JHC president, Pauline Rockman.
“Not only is the award a testament to the professionalism, dedication and commitment of our staff and the consultants involved in the refurbishment of the Holocaust Museum; it is equally a testament to the vision of the Holocaust survivors who, almost 30 years ago, had the foresight to establish a museum and centre to serve as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and as a vibrant educational facility.”
At the award ceremony, the judges commented that “such an empathetic development combined with impressive design principles, this project honours the purpose of the Jewish Holocaust Centre while providing a contemporary environment fusing technology and display that will enable it, through its exhibitions, to attract and engage existing and new audiences into the future.”
Accepting the award on behalf of the Centre and particularly on behalf of the Holocaust survivors, whose contribution to Holocaust education and memory is so critical, Fineberg singled out the prodigious efforts of the JHC Curator and Head of Collections, Jayne Josem, who led the project, ably assisted by JHC Education Director, Zvi Civins.
