Gallery, Shul and Artistic Endeavor for Students in Brooklyn Gallery, Shul and Artistic Endeavor for Students in Brooklyn
Originally published on Chabad.org/NEWS by Sara Trappler Spielman
Esther Zibell’s colorful and imaginative holiday paintings have left synagogue-goers inspired by Judaism, art and a rather ambitious theme—Jewish unity.
Her exhibit, “Jewnity”—currently showing at the Hadas Gallery at the Rohr Chabad Jewish Center serving the Pratt Institute in Clinton Hill, a neighborhood in the north-central borough of Brooklyn, N.Y., that borders Crown Heights—has been met with enthusiasm by a cross-section of visitors since it went on display in mid-September.
Built five years ago across the street from the Pratt campus, the gallery is run by Rabbi Simcha Weinstein, co-director of Chabad at Pratt. It also functions as a synagogue for the downtown Brooklyn collegiate community and the surrounding area, which is known for its affinity towards the arts.
Indeed, the walls have seen a lot. Ongoing changing exhibits of all kinds—paintings, photography, mixed media and sculpture by local professional Jewish artists, students and professors—and congregants as diverse as the surrounding artwork bring a real mix of creativity and spirituality to the place. On Shabbat, the Torah scrolls are brought out, and Jewish prayerful songs and melodies can be heard; students also attend holiday meals and late-night schmooze sessions there.