The Skirball Cultural Center, founded in 1996, is a Jewish educational institution in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The center, named after

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

couple Jack H. Skirball and Audrey Skirball-Kenis, has a museum with regularly changing exhibitions, film events, music and theater performances, comedy, family, literary, and cultural programs. The campus includes a museum, a performing arts center, conference halls, classrooms, libraries, courtyards, gardens, and a café. Although the center has its roots in Jewish culture, it is open to individuals of all ages and cultures.

Skirball Museum

The Skirball Museum predates the Skirball Cultural Center, having been established in 1972 at the

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

in Los Angeles. The museum moved into the Skirball Cultural Center after the center's completion. The Skirball's core exhibition, ''Visions and Values: Jewish Life from Antiquity to America'', traces the history, experiences, and values of Jews over 4,000 years. Featuring changing displays of works from Skirball's museum collection, the exhibition's galleries contain multimedia installations, rare artifacts, historical documents and photographs, works of fine art, interactive computer stations, and sound recordings that lead visitors on the Jewish people's journey, culminating with their experiences in the United States. Comprising more than 30,000 objects, the Skirball's museum collection includes archaeological artifacts from biblical and later historical periods; Jewish ceremonial objects from countries around the world; an extensive group of Old World Jewish objects; the Project Americana collection, comprising objects that document the "everyday life of ordinary people" in the United States since the 1850s; and works of fine art in a variety of media.

Architecture

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie (; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author. He is well known for incorporating principles of socially responsible design throughout his six-decade career. His projects include cultural, ed ...

, the campus of the Skirball Cultural Center is in the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

near the

Sepulveda Pass Sepulveda Pass (elevation ) is a low mountain pass through the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles. It is named after the Sepúlveda family of California, a prominent Californio family that owned the land where the pass lies. It connects ...

Noah's Ark

The Noah's Ark galleries were designed by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects of Seattle. Partner Jim Olson was the lead designer of the ark, and Principal Alan Maskin designed the interactive exhibits and provided art direction for the project, including the design of nearly 300 animals. Brooklyn-based designer/puppeteer Chris M. Green created additional life-sized animals, many of them puppets, to be operated by gallery staff. Outdoors, the Noah's Ark experience includes a rainbow mist installation developed by Moshe Safdie, the architect of the Skirball Cultural Center, in partnership with environmental artist Ned Kahn.

Public programs

The Skirball presents a range of music, theater, poetry, literature, film, and other performing arts.

Education

Skirball annually serves approximately 60,000 schoolchildren and teachers, representing virtually every religious and ethnic background in Southern California. The family-oriented discovery center includes a simulated dig site and field tent and informs visitors about the archaeology of ancient Israel and the Near East. Zeidler s Cafe-1

References

External links

Official website of the Skirball Cultural Center
{{Authority control Museums in Los Angeles Arts centers in California Art museums and galleries in Los Angeles Jewish museums in California Santa Monica Mountains Sepulveda Boulevard Jews and Judaism in Los Angeles Jewish organizations based in the United States National Performance Network Partners Organizations established in 1996 Cultural centers in the United States 1996 establishments in California Brentwood, Los Angeles Moshe Safdie buildings Postmodern architecture in California