Friday, January 30, 2009

the friday philanthropist

last night, dad and i decided to check out the arab american national museum, whose opening in 2005 marked the first of its kind, worldwide.

highlights: mosaic-filled courtyard featuring arab culture and history; visiting exhibit, "a yemeni community: photographs from the 1970s by milton rogovin," depicting life in the "bustling steel town" of lackawanna, ny; table displaying famous arab architecture with corresponding light-up wall map; and museum store vending everything from jordanian pottery to dead sea salt natural mineral cosmetics.

other enjoyable, if not somewhat predictable, elements: permanent exhibit, "living in america," (reminiscent of the museum of tolerance) and programming, such as "global thursdays," (akin to the skirball cultural center).

most museums, like the arab american national museum, are nonprofit organizations who rely heavily on revenue from memberships and admission tickets. so next time you are hard-pressed to find a philanthropic endeavor, consider visiting a local museum.

2 comments:

daveghax said...

almost completely off topic - speaking of lackawanna, did you ever see lackawanna blues? i think it was an HBO movie or something. spectacular. you'll love it.

johnny said...

lackawanna blues? i'll check it out. thanks for the recommend.