The Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore is now displaying a new mural titled “Wings of Hope” in the health & fitness wing of its Owings Mills facility at 3506 Gwynnbrook Avenue.
The mural was created by children attending the J Camps program, in partnership with the J Life family engagement program. The activity was part of “Israel Week” at J Camps to celebrate, honor and learn about the Jewish state.
The original “Wings of Hope” artwork was created in July of 2023 by Livnat Kutz and members of Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel. Kutz, an art educator, created the work as an art therapy project for her community.
Replications of these wings were created throughout Israel and the world in memory of the Kutz and her family, all of whom were murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023.
J Camps created the artwork with colorful wings made from old toys. The original wings were created as a silent symbol of happy childhoods at Kfar Aza. Campers brought in old and broken toys. They were guided through hands-on workshops to create their own graffiti pieces, while being taught history, techniques and the cultural significance of the project.
Participants created their own take-home version of the wings while also contributing to a collaborative piece displayed at the Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC.
“Art has the ability to connect people with places they have never been and people they have never met,” said Melissa Seltzer, senior director of arts & culture at the JCC and J Life. “Our hope was for campers to create a connection to Israel and diverse people using experiential inroads that created empathy and compassion of shared hopes dreams.”
The JCC is encouraging community members to take their own photos of themselves with the wings and post them on social media, tagging the JCC of Greater Baltimore.
For information about J Life, visit jcc.org/Jlife.
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