Museum of Jewish Heritage to Launch Digital Guide with Julianna Margulies, Eleanor Reissa & More

On June 29, New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will launch a new digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The Bloomberg Connects app, available for download from Google Play or the App Store, makes the Museum accessible for both onsite and remote visitors through photo, audio, and video features that offer access and insights into the Museum's collection, exhibitions, and educational resources. Onsite, the app turns a user's mobile phone into a touchless experience and centralized source of information. Offsite, it allows users to explore institutions from anywhere.

Specifically, app users can view and learn about select works featured within the Museum's exhibitions, watch video presentations of the Museum's public programs and events, access Museum podcasts, and download educational materials for use in schools.

Notably, the audio tour for the Museum's highly anticipated new exhibition, The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do, will be offered through the app, featuring narration from decorated actress Julianna Margulies, winner of eight Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe, as well as Eleanor Reissa, the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated director, Broadway and television actress, prize-winning playwright, and former artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.

"It has been a privilege to be a part of such an important institution. My hope is that everyone comes to see this exhibition. It is integral to understanding our history and connecting to our future," says Margulies.

"As the daughter of parents who lived through the Holocaust - my father in Auschwitz and Monowitz and then the Death March, and my mother in Uzbekistan and then later in the DP camps - I am so grateful to be a small part of telling their story, which for them was not a 'story' but was their lives. This thoughtful, demanding exhibition allows us to understand human nature - the light and the darkness that man is capable of. There are too many lessons we still need to learn," says Reissa.

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, acclaimed vocalist and Yiddishist, and actress Lauren Lebowitz are also featured on the audio guide.

The new exhibition, which opens for previews on June 30, is a 12,000-square-foot presentation of Holocaust history revealing what happens when hate and bigotry go unchecked. This monumental exhibition features over 750 treasured personal belongings, testimonies, photos, and film-many on view for the first time and curated largely from the Museum's renowned permanent collection.

"We are very excited about our partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and honored to join the ranks of other important cultural institutions harnessing this new technology," says Jack Kliger, Museum President and CEO. "The Bloomberg Connects app will enhance the experience of visitors to our Museum and make our institution more accessible to those unable to attend in person. We are steadfast in our commitment to preserve Holocaust history, to teach its lessons through educational programming, and to present cutting-edge exhibitions that engage and inspire visitors. This app will expand our reach and capabilities to that end."

Bloomberg Connects offers free digital guides to cultural organizations around the world. The app platform is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies' longstanding commitment to supporting digital innovation in the arts. Bloomberg Connects makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices when visiting in person, or anytime from anywhere. With dynamic content exclusive to each partner organization, the app provides a range of features including video, audio, and text; expert commentary; and way-finding maps. Follow Bloomberg Connects on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for updates on new guide launches, exhibit highlights, and more.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 941 cities and 173 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's giving, including his foundation and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2021, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $1.66 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

About The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is New York's contribution to the global responsibility to never forget. The Museum is committed to the crucial mission of educating diverse visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust. The third largest Holocaust museum in the world and the second-largest in North America, the Museum of Jewish Heritage anchors the southernmost tip of Manhattan, completing the cultural and educational landscape it shares with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage maintains a collection of almost 40,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies and contains classrooms, a 375-seat theater (Edmond J. Safra Hall), special exhibition galleries, a resource center for educators, and a memorial art installation, Garden of Stones, designed by internationally acclaimed sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. The Museum is the home of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and JewishGen.

The Museum's current offerings include Boris Lurie: Nothing To Do But To Try, a first of its kind exhibition on the 20th century artist and Holocaust survivor on view through November 6, 2022. The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do, will open in the Museum's main galleries on June 30, 2022.

In addition, the Museum offers free, pre-recorded virtual lessons for students, taught by a Museum educator, using its Holocaust Curriculum lesson plans. Designed for middle and high school, the lessons, available on demand, allow for student interaction via chat and polls, offer certificates of completion, and resources for additional research. For more information: https://mjhnyc.org/education/virtual-lessons/

The Museum receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.

For more information, visit mjhnyc.org.

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