LINCROFT – The Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education (Chhange) at Brookdale Community College will hold the public grand opening from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, of its new facility.
Chhange, in its 34th year, is now centrally located on the Brookdale campus in the Bankier Library Building, next to the interior entrance of the library. The new center adds major enhancements to Chhange’s existing resources with an exhibit space, smart classroom and videoconferencing center, and the only Holocaust/Genocide archives in New Jersey. Local survivors have donated more than 600 archival items to the archives. These precious keepsakes will continue to tell the survivors’ stories and teach the history for generations to come.
Chhange will not only be able to host many more classes in its new facility, but with technology that includes videoconferencing, survivors, educators and scholars can visit classrooms across the state and the nation from Chhange’s classroom. With the 3-dimensional document camera, the archival items can be viewed closely via videoconferencing as well.
The first exhibit featured in the new space, Recovering Memory: The Art of Claire Boren, was specifically selected for the grand opening. Claire was a hidden child during the Holocaust and had repressed most of her memories of the war. Her art-making process unlocked past experiences and memories of her childhood during the Holocaust. She would pick up found objects at random, work on a piece and only then discover the meaning – each time creating an unexpected dialogue between the objects, the media, her thoughts and feelings, and ultimately the finished piece.
Claire Boren’s art will be on display through Dec. 14. To reserve a group visit, please call 732-224-1889. School groups are welcome. Chhange plans to host several temporary exhibits over the next year, before opening its permanent exhibit in Spring 2014.
“The new Chhange Center greatly expands our ability to serve students, educators and community members with dynamic programming. The enthusiastic response of the community and the many school visits already scheduled underscores how needed this expansion is,” said Dale Daniels, executive director of Chhange.
The Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education (Chhange) at Brookdale Community College educates, inspires and empowers students, teachers and community members to take constructive action to address injustice. Since 1979, Chhange’s mission of eliminating “racism, antisemitism, and all forms of prejudice that damage our society” has been carried out through innovative educational programs and by contact with Holocaust and other genocide survivors, members of victim groups, and human rights activists.
Chhange is located on Brookdale’s main Lincroft campus, and visitors are welcome. Additional information is available by visiting www. chhange.org or contacting Daniels at 732-224-2974.
