August saw a wonderful new event on Cape Town’s Jewish calendar: an art exhibition involving local artists donating works for sale to raise much-needed funds for Care Services.
Eleanor Miller, who organised the event with Tamara Davidson, explains that the idea for this came about through local Jewish artist, Sheila Huth. “Sheila approached me last year with the idea of hosting an art exhibition featuring Jewish artists to raise funds for Oranjia,” Eleanor explains. “Tamara and I loved the concept: it was something fresh, and it would allow people to purchase beautiful art while simultaneously supporting a meaningful cause.”
Once Eleanor and Tamara got started on the project, they realised that it had the potential to be something far bigger than they had originally anticipated. And so they decided to expand the project to involve all the welfare organisations that make up Care Services: Oranjia, Glendale, Astra, Cape Jewish Seniors, Nechama, Highlands House, and Jewish Community Services.
COO of Care Services, Hazel Levin, together with Paul Berman, the Chairman of Care Services, introduced the guests at the event to Care Services. Hazel explains that, “Care Services serves as an umbrella organisation, providing a centralised administration service, so allowing each body to focus on its core mission of care and support. This is a relatively new initiative, and we realised that the art exhibition could serve as the launchpad needed to introduce Care Services to Cape Town’s Jewish community.”
With the support of the UJC, Care Services put on a quality evening, attracting a significant audience from both the Jewish community and the art world.
Hosted by the South African Jewish Museum (SAJM), the event served as a good example of collaboration across the community. In addition to Care Services and the UJC, the Director of the SAJM, Gavin Morris, provided significant support, and he brought in Sarin Goott from the SAFIM Art Collaborative. “The assistance provided by Gavin and Sarin was crucial,” Eleanor comments. “They identified and engaged with the artists, discussing with each artist how they would like to contribute.”
The artists’ response was unexpectedly generous, with 29 artists participating. Some of the artists donated more than one piece of their work, so increasing the opportunity to raise funds from the sales. The artists could choose how they wanted to contribute: either a donation of an artwork in full, or retaining a portion of the sale price. “Many of the artists chose to give in full – evidence of the wonderful spirit of generosity that we saw among the artists!” Eleanor says.
The event itself was a great success, and the organisers are committed to continuing with impactful community initiatives that offer similar benefits to the care organisations. ●
COMMENTS FROM ARTISTS
Alex Abrahams
The practice of making art has a healing effect on one.
I donated to the exhibition because I could not miss the chance to exhibit alongside some wonderful artists from the Jewish community.
Care Services is important for everyone, and provides important support for those in our community battling with mental health.
Galia Gluckman
Supporting our community is always vital, but especially now. All Jews are responsible for one another.
I love our Cape Town Jewish community. It feels so empowering to come together as a community, many pieces of the puzzle fitting together.
Russel Smith
I believe as artists and as Jews we need to support and help our community in any way we can. I know that my involvement in this will bring good, especially to those who need it most. In the times we are living in, in an environment where we are ostracised here and around the world, we need to show our support more than ever.
The positive impact of a care organisation: a case study
An important life lesson, according to Paul Berman, the Chairman of Care Services, is that, “We should be judged not by our achievements but by how we treat our most vulnerable.” This underpins the very existence of Care Services, which faces the huge task of raising large sums of money to provide for the growing welfare needs in Cape Town’s Jewish community.
Eleanor explains that, “Beyond fundraising, the exhibition offered the opportunity to educate the community about the vital work of the organisations, and to give insight into the lives of those who benefit from their generosity.”
Guests at the event heard Anthony Witttels’s story. Anthony recounted how he lost everything, becoming a beneficiary of Jewish Community Services. The support he received from the community was core to his ability to rebuild his life and to thrive. ●
Care Services info@careservices.org.za
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