THE work of Rugby Art Gallery and Museum’s work to commemorate January’s Holocaust Memorial Day has been honoured in the corridors of power.
Staff were invited to a reception at Westminster to talk about the study workshops that attracted scores of pupils and prompted the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to name the museum as one of the best activity organisers in the country.
Jessica Hartshorn, the learning and outreach officer, and Jessica Litherland, senior exhibitions officer, have even written a case study on the workshops to encourage other galleries and museums to run similar ones next year, as well as speaking to MPs about their work.
Jessica said: “It was a great honour to be invited to the reception, and a wonderful opportunity to speak about our work and raise awareness of Holocaust Memorial Day.
“We not only had the chance to speak to a number of MPs, but also to refugee survivors from Bosnia, Auschwitz and Cambodia, which highlighted the importance of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s work.”
The workshops were linked to an exhibition of paintings by Rugby-based artist Iris Anne Berger on the life of Anne Frank during the Second World War, and looked at discrimination, refugees and journeys through a range of activities, including creating ‘suitcases’ comprising drawings, text and images linked to themes.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, the trust’s chief executive, said: “Rugby Art Gallery and Museum held an outstanding event for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, and we were delighted to welcome Jessica to our parliamentary reception so she could speak to MPs about the excellent work she and her colleagues have done.”
